“Shades of Pigment”
Is such an incredibly strong title for an epic about racial divide that I hesitate to try and add anything to it by attempting explanations.
However, the first two sections of the poem employ a method of blending the subject matter into continuity. The dream carries into “Ride…” and the ideas generated by the mention of Adam Powell at the end of “Ride…” carry directly into this part of the poem.
“Adam Powell's heritage was white, African and Cherokee. Because of his heritage he was mistaken for a white man many times. One of those events was when he was stopped by a gang of African youth who asked what color he was. Adam had not ever been questioned or had thought about his that much as a child. His response was white.
In 1940 Harlem got a seat in council. Adam Powell was the first person to represent Harlem in council. Along with a chosen few Powell became one of the only blacks in politics. Because of his popularity Powell was elected to congress thirteen times but was ruled out the last time. Among one of his achievements Powell was elected to the House of Representatives. Last but not least Powell was elected the chairman of education and labor.”
http://www.newton.mec.edu/bigelow/classroom/yerardi/blackhistory04/18blackhist04cb1/18blackhist04cb1index.htm
Line 2-4, I’m not having any luck pinpointing Leopold, Premier Downing, or General Bourse
Line 5, “Eastland and Malan deceased” As Patsy mentioned, Eastland was a segregationist governor. Daniel Francois Malan was the first Prime Minister of the apartheid government in South Africa.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Francois_Malan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotte_Lenya
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_Knife
Porgy and Bess was written by George Gershwin.
The fez, also spelled fes, is a particular style of hat that originated from the city of Fez in Morocco. The fez is also known as the tarboosh (Persian sar-boosh for "head cover") and checheya.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fez
Lotte Lenya was an Austrian born, Jewish singer who feld to the US in 1933 to escape the rise of Nazism. She went on to play the role of Jenny in The Threepenny Opera, which also explains the next reference, "Mack the Knife," the name of the main character.Porgy and Bess is an opera with Music by George Gershwin, based on a novel by Dubose Heyward. Hughes, like this opera, deals with boundaries of race.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porgy_and_Bess#PlotLines 17-20 stump me... I'm not sure exactly how to research what he might mean there...Line 24 The Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions over Jewish law, custom, etc.Lines 25-27 begin a series of analogies that are all unique in their representation of displacement. That’s what sums this up for me…Displacement, division…
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A Reader's Guide
These annotations to Langston Hughes' long poem "Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz" are compiled and expanded each semester by students in Naropa University’s "Investigative Poetics" class, offered through the MFA Creative Writing low-residency program.
Annotations by Section
- Ask Your Mama (1)
- Bird in Orbit (1)
- Blues in Stereo (1)
- Cultural Exchange (1)
- Gospel of Cha-Cha (1)
- Horn of Plenty (1)
- Is It True (1)
- Jazztet Muted (1)
- Ode to Dinah (1)
- Ride Red Ride (1)
- Shades of Pigment (1)
- Show Fare Please (1)
5 comments:
(Pg. 486 - right margin) Humming: All God's Chillun Got Shoes
I found the lyrics for a song entitled: All God's Chillun Got Wings (the reference to shoes shows up in the last verse).
ALL GOD'S CHILLUN GOT WINGS
I got a robe, you got a robe
All o' God's chillun got a robe
When I get to heab'n I'm goin' to put on my robe
I'm goin' to shout all ovah God's Heab'n
Heab'n, Heab'n
Ev'rybody talkin' 'bout heab'n ain't goin' dere
Heab'n, Heab'n
I'm goin' to shout all ovah God's Heab'n
I got-a wings, you got-a wings
All o' God's chillun got-a wings
When I get to heab'n I'm goin' to put on my wings
I'm goin' to fly all ovah God's Heab'n
Heab'n, Heab'n
Ev'rybody talkin' 'bout heab'n ain't goin' dere
Heab'n, Heab'n
I'm goin' to fly all ovah God's Heab'n
I got a harp, you got a harp
All o' God's chillun got a harp
When I get to heab'n I'm goin' to take up my harp
I'm goin' to play all ovah God's Heab'n
Heab'n , Heab'n
Ev'rybody talkin' 'bout heab'n ain't goin' dere
Heab'n, Heab'n
I'm goin' to play all ovah God's Heab'n
I got shoes, you got shoes
All o' God's chillun got shoes
When I get to heab'n I'm goin' to put on my shoes
I'm goin' to walk all ovah God's Heab'n
Heab'n , Heab'n
Ev'rybody talkin' 'bout heab'n ain't goin' dere
Heab'n, Heab'n
I'm goin' to walk all ovah God's Heab'n
(Source: http://www.negrospirituals.com/news-song/all_god_s_chillun_got_wings.htm)
There are several variations to this song:
I did find the titled song (without lyrics), "All o' God's chillun got shoes."
I was able to listen to a version by the Charioteers:
(http://play.rhapsody.com/album/thegospeltraditiontherootsthebranchesvol1/allgodschillungotshoes?didAutoplayBounce=true)
One verse began: I got a crown (might be frown - I found another version that said frown), you got a crown. The verses were not in the order listed above, but otherwise all the lyrics were the same.
Again, the idea of repetition comes into play, though this time in the form of gospel music, rather than jazz.
Pg. 487, line 8 “Zik” – Reference to Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe, the founder of Nigerian nationalism and the first president of Nigeria. A nickname.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nnamdi_Azikiwehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nnamdi_Azikiwe
pg. 487, line 9 “Big Maybell” – Although spelled differently, this might be a reference to Big Maybelle a prominent blues singer during the 1940s.
http://home.earthlink.net/~jaymar41/Maybelle.html
Kimberlie
Line 2: “Belgium shadow Leopold”
King Leopold II of Belgium (1835-1909) founded the Congo Free State, located in the area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Leopold ran the Congo as a business venture for extracting rubber and ivory and used millions of Congolese as forced-labour workers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II_of_Belgium
Line 3: “Premier Downing aging”
Possibly a reference to Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet (1623-1684). He was never actually premier or prime minister of England. He was actually a soldier, diplomat and politician. 10 Downing Street in London is named after him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_George_Downing%2C_1st_Baronet
http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page178.asp
Line 4: “General Bourse beleaguered”
“Bourse” is the French word for stock exchange. The Saudi Arabian stock exchange is known as the “General Bourse Index.” Maybe this is a longshot, but Hughes could be referring to downward trends in the stock market, which in turn could affect general economic conditions (including the slave trade).
Line 28: “Zik”
Nnamdi Azikiwe (1904-1996), served as 1st President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966. Known informally as “Zik,” and called “The Great Zik of Africa” by his admirers, Azikiwe was a teacher and newspaper editor before going into politics. He founded modern Nigerian nationalism and challenged the existing colonial order. His published works spawned the political philosophy of Zikism, outlining the five principles of Africa’s movement towards freedom: spiritual balance, social regeneration, economic determination, mental emancipation, and political resurgence.
Books by Azikiwe:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/102-5173595-9222533?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Nnamdi%20Azikiwe
Biography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nnamdi_Azikiwe
Line 29: “Big Maybell”
Blues singer Big Maybelle (1924-1971).
African-American Registry:
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/857/Big_Maybelle_a_tough_act_to_follow
Recordings:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/104-8443637-0460766?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Big+Maybelle&x=0&y=0
Section: SHADES OF PIGME
On page 486, there is the music note “Eli Eli”, which “merges into an Afro-Arabic theme”… Eli Eli is a Hebrew song written by Hannah Senesh (1921-1944). She made her way to Aliya to Israel from Hungary at age 18, went to the agricultural school at Nahalal and joined kibbutz Sdot-Yam. In 1943, at the height of World War II, she volunteered to go into Nazi-controlled areas in Europe to save Jewish lives. In 1944 she parachuted into Yugoslavia. After staying with the partisans, she went to Hungary, where she was discovered and executed by the Germans. She is known both for her heroism and her poetry. (Bio info from: http://www.hebrewsongs.com/song-elieli.htm)
Here are the lyrics, also from that website:
“Eli, Eli
I pray that it never will end.
The sand and the sea
and the waves breaking and sighing
and high over the water
the wind blowing free.
The lightning and rain and the darkness descending
and ever and ever the nature of man.”
(caitlin scholl)
(P. 486, Lines 17-20) Refers to May (Mai) Britt, an actress who was born as Maybritt Wilkens in Sweden in 1933, and who converted to Judaism before her high-profile marriage, one of the first legal interracial marriages in the US, to Sammy Davis Jr. in 1960. (For more info on Mai, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Britt )
(P. 487, Lines 2-4) May refer to the common Jewish practice when studying the Talmud of answering questions with more questions.
(P.487, Lines 4-5) "Fezes are cool." (Who loves Doctor Who?) There are
many different ways to interpret a fez-wearing Talmudic scholar. There is perhaps a reference to the kippah or yarmulke worn by Jews. Also, the fez can be a religious head covering worn by practicing Muslims. Combine Jew, Muslim and the following reference to Jesuits and you have all three major religions represented. This is just a guess.
(P. 487, Lines 4-10) Attempting to show the extremes between things; i.e. the distance between the missionary famous Jesuits and a Talmud scholar wearing a fez, the distance between Big Maybelle (Mabel Louise Smith, an American R&B Singer) and The Met, or the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as distant from each other as the North Pole from the South, which is to say, as far as can be on this world, but actually almost identical.
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