Langston Hughes’ popular poem entitled “The Weary Blues” was published by Langston Hughes in 1926 but was composed in 1925. It greatly reflects Hughes emotions toward the popular African American art form of the Blues. He writes his poem on the sluggish and weary days of the blues singer. The poem itself isn’t a blues with call and response like the others Hughes would write. Instead it is a narrative style poem about the blues. In this poems year of composition, their were many significant historical occurrences.
In war and politics, Benito Mussolini announces on January 3rd that he is taking dictatorial power over Italy. This is the early beginnings of Fascism and totalitarian forms of government that would eventually culminate with the second world war. This most likely made for a “weary” mood in Europe and the rest of the world. This paved the way for other fascist dictatorships like that of Franco and Hitler. Hughes most likely saw signs of this in his various European travels.
Mussolini and Girlfriend after their eventual execution
Social Change: One Gender Rights change occured on January 5th with the United States gaining their first female governor in Wyoming. This woman’s name Nellie Taylor Ross. 12 days later on the 17th, Texas elected Ma Ferguson as the first female governor of Texas. This, in my opinion, in some pretty radical and positive social change. To be honest, I never would have expected Texas in the 1920s to be the second given the social climate in the south in those days.
In Art and Culture, F. Scott Fitzgerald Publishes his beloved novel The Great Gatsby on April 10. This is probably the first thing someone thinks of when they think of “The Great American Novel” and “The American Dream” of big house, big car, fast money, and love. It also set the table for later modernist novelists.
In Science and Technology, Art Gillham records for Columbia Records the first Western Electric masters to be commercially released. This was a great technological innovation and it would most likely aid in the increase in commercial recorded music. This helped with the recording of later Jazz and Blues that was seminal to the success of the Harlem Renaissance.