"THEY ASKED ME… IF MY BLACKNESS, WOULD IT RUB OFF? I SAID, ASK YOUR MAMA"

HUGHES, Langston. Ask Your Mama. 12 Moods for Jazz. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1961. Oblong octavo, half white cloth with multi-colored paper-covered boards, original dust jacket; $2250.

First edition of Hughes' epic poem, hailed as a "milestone" in its celebration of African American blues, jazz and the tradition of the "dozens."

Hughes had been reading his poetry with jazz musicians for decades before creating this innovative volume of jazz poetry, dedicated to Louis Armstrong. In this landmark work he "fused jazz and other black music with the form called the 'dozens', a ritual of genial insult rooted in African American culture. Each of the 12 sections of the poem is attended by musical cues that are integral to its poetic meaning." Arna Bontemps early wrote Hughes with praise, declaring Ask Your Mama "a milestone in your writing career" (Selected Letters, 370n). To his biographer Rampersad, "the poem amounts to a bristling challenge to the established American social and political order" (Smithsonian Magazine). "First edition" stated on copyright page: portrait of Hughes on rear dust jacket panel from a photograph by Roy De Carava. Basis for the 2009 Carnegie Hall premiere of composer Laura Karpman's work, performed by renowned soprano Jessye Norman. Blockson 4712.

Book with minor wear along bottom edge, price-clipped dust jacket with faint soiling to front panel, mildest toning to spine. A near-fine copy.