Jazz Poems in The Harlem Renaissance vs The Black Arts Movement

John Coltrane recording at Van Gelder Studios, NJ (1963)

All throughout their journey towards a just and equal society, African Americans have used poems to spread their ideas and stories, inspiring others to join them in their effort. One specific form of poetry used in much of this journey is Jazz poetry, which first emerged during the Harlem Renaissance. However, much like the people themselves, forms of poetry changed dramatically as the 20th century progressed, to the point where a Jazz poem from the 1920s and one from the 1960s are barely recognizable as using the same form of poetry. How and why is the Jazz poetry from the Harlem Renaissance so different to that of the Black Arts Movement? What does this say about the evolution of the vision behind these movements?

The Characteristics of Jazz Poetry

Jazz poems are exactly what their name says they are; poems that contain elements of Jazz music. Jazz poetry originates from Blues poetry, and it also shares many similar features with Blues poetry as well. The repeated lines and distinct song-like qualities of the poems are clear to see in examples of both Blues and Jazz poetry. The two may seem very similar, but what sets Jazz poetry apart from Blues is its complexity. Blues music at its core is very simple; mournful, repetitive poems that you would sing while doing hard, manual labor. Jazz music, much like Jazz poetry, is an evolution of its Blues counterpart. Jazz music is heavily improvised, and the rhythms are much more complex and syncopated. Furthermore, the theme of the music itself isn't purely restricted to weariness and sadness; allowing Jazz musicians to paint much more vivid imagery with a wider range of emotions. 

Jazz poems themselves, as mentioned before, possess a rhythmic, musical feel to them, often incorporating multiple voices in the poems or even evoking the feeling of improvisation with their structure and language.

The Harlem Renaissance (1920s - 1930s) 

The Jazz poems written during the Harlem Renaissance clearly demonstrate many of the qualities I discussed earlier. For example, Langston Hughes' "The Cat and The Saxophone" displays the trademark multi-vocal quality of Jazz poetry, incorporating three different voices into a poem while simultaneously capturing the essence of a random bar scene so well that it feels "improvised". Also by Hughes with the misleading title "The Weary Blues", is a Jazz poem which explores the themes of misery much like a traditional Blues poem, but incorporates other shades of sadness and musical themes to paint a much more bittersweet image of a broken man singing at a piano. 

Not only does "The Weary Blues" do such a good job with its imagery, but I think it also captures the goals of The Harlem Renaissance perfectly. The Jazz poem takes its origins in Blues and builds on it; turns it into something new and exciting, just as the artists of the Harlem Renaissance wanted to show the beauty of Black arts by taking incorporating their culture into mainstream forms of art.

Link to: The Cat and The Saxophone (2 AM)

Link to: The Weary Blues  

Black Arts Movement (1960s - 1970s)

One look at the Jazz poetry from the Black Arts Movement is enough to see the differences between them and the poems written decades prior. Jazz in general had become very different, incorporating even less structure than before, as it no longer stuck to conventional rhythms or keys, but instead completely went off the rails, losing key and time signatures all together. One example of this chaotic form of Jazz poetry is Sonya Sanchez's "a/coltrane/poem", where the author uses sound effects, weird formatting, odd rhythm , and even crazier structure to mirror the compositions of John Coltrane's later Jazz works, as well as the much more chaotic social climate of the 1970s.

Another example of a Black Arts Movement Jazz poem is "I Am a Cowboy in the Boat of Ra" by Ishmael Reed. This text, while not as crazy and experimental as Sanchez's Coltrane poem, also takes the traditional Jazz poem and adds a twist on it by blending cultures, using mythical imagery while retaining the rhythmic elements of Jazz poetry. It keeps the characteristic reflection on Black and African culture of Harlem Renaissance Jazz poetry, while going a step further by disregarding mainstream art and challenging conventional literary norms.

Link to: I Am a Cowboy in the Boat of Ra

(I couldn't find a digital version of "a/coltrane/poem", but I'm sure you remember it from class.)

Similarities and Differences

Clearly, the separation in style between the two eras of Jazz poetry is very pronounced, and these unique twists on Jazz poetry are largely due to the differing social climate of the two time periods. One one side, the Harlem Renaissance poets such as Langston Hughes wanted to celebrate Black culture by integrating it into the mainstream. Their Jazz poetry, while innovative and rhythmic, still maintained a certain elegance and connection to blues, as well as some aspects of traditional European forms of poetry. In contrast, the artists of the Black Arts Movement of embraced a much more experimental and disruptive approach in order to reflect the uncertain and urgent nature of the times by using weird structures, sound effects, and cultural fusion to to advocate for a more radical expression of Black identity. When looking at them more carefully, these two eras of Jazz poetry mirror the evolving social and cultural landscape and the ideology of the African American community over the course of the 20th century.