''Fine Clothes to the Jew'' is a 1927

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

collection by

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

published by

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

. Because it departed from sentimental depictions of

African-American culture African-American culture refers to the contributions of African Americans to the culture of the United States, either as part of or distinct from mainstream American culture. The culture is both distinct and enormously influential on Ame ...

, the collection was widely criticized, especially in the Black press, when it was published.Rummel, Jack; Wagner, Heather Lehr (2005) Langston Hughes: Poet,'' p. 52. Infobase Publishing,

Publication and response

The title appears in the poem "Hard Luck" in the book's first section.Bercovitch, Sacvan (2003). ''The Cambridge History of American Literature: Poetry and criticism, 1900-1950,'' p. 323. Cambridge University Press, It refers to a phrase popular in Harlem at the time, referring to citizens who would pawn fine clothes to predominantly

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

-owned pawn shops when they were short on money.Nazel, Joe (2008). ''Langston Hughes,'' p. 140, Holloway House Publishing, The collection was Hughes' least successful in terms of both sales and critical reception.Rampersad, Arnold (1986). Langston Hughes's ''Fine Clothes to the Jew''. ''Callaloo, ''No. 26, Winter, 1986 However, his first work ''

The Weary Blues "The Weary Blues" is a poem by American poet Langston Hughes. Written in 1925, "The Weary Blues" was first published in the Urban League magazine ''Opportunity''. It was awarded the magazine's prize for best poem of the year. The poem was includ ...

'' and this collection made his reputation.Stewart, Jeffrey C (July 3, 1983). Uptown: the bard of urban. ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' Biographer

Arnold Rampersad Arnold Rampersad (born 13 November 1941) is a biographer, literary critic, and academic, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago and moved to the US in 1965. The first volume (1986) of his ''Life of Langston Hughes'' was a finalist for the Pulitzer ...

called it Hughes' "most brilliant book of poems."Rampersad, Arnold (2002). ''The Life of Langston Hughes: Volume I: 1902-1941, I, Too, Sing America.'' Oxford University Press,

References

External links

* Full text of
Fine Clothes to the Jew
' at HathiTrust Digital Library American poetry collections 1927 books Poetry by Langston Hughes {{poetry-collection-stub