Fine Clothes to the Jew

Fine Clothes to the Jew is a 1927 poetry collection by Langston Hughes published by Alfred A. Knopf. Because it departed from sentimental depictions of African-American culture, the collection was widely criticized, especially in the Black press, when it was published.[1]

Fine Clothes to the Jew
1st Edition Cover
AuthorLangston Hughes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenrePoetry
Published1927
PublisherAlfred A. Knopf

Publication and response

The title appears in the poem "Hard Luck" in the book's first section.[2] It refers to a phrase popular in Harlem at the time, referring to citizens who would pawn fine clothes to predominantly Jewish-owned pawn shops when they were short on money.[3]

The collection was Hughes' least successful in terms of both sales and critical reception.[4] However, his first work The Weary Blues and this collection made his reputation.[5] Biographer Arnold Rampersad called it Hughes' "most brilliant book of poems."[6]

References
  1. Rummel, Jack; Wagner, Heather Lehr (2005) Langston Hughes: Poet, p. 52. Infobase Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7910-8250-8
  2. Bercovitch, Sacvan (2003). The Cambridge History of American Literature: Poetry and criticism, 1900-1950, p. 323. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-30109-1
  3. Nazel, Joe (2008). Langston Hughes, p. 140, Holloway House Publishing, ISBN 978-0-87067-937-7
  4. Rampersad, Arnold (1986). Langston Hughes's Fine Clothes to the Jew. Callaloo, No. 26, Winter, 1986
  5. Stewart, Jeffrey C (July 3, 1983). Uptown: the bard of urban. Los Angeles Times
  6. Rampersad, Arnold (2002). The Life of Langston Hughes: Volume I: 1902-1941, I, Too, Sing America. Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-514642-4


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