Jazz Poetry

Many of his poems bear the influence of jazz and the blues known as "blues poetry." He was referred to as a jazzpoet because he incorporated music in them. Blues poetry is using the same themes, motifs, language, and imagery common to the blues literature. "He was the one who began writing blues poetry and the one who initiated the process of performing poetry accompanied by jazz musicians" (Chinitz 177). Hughes's poems often use idioms and speech patterns of African-American dissent to tell of the trials and hardships of his people. His use of repetitions, choruses, riffs, scats, audience participation, dissonance, and line irregularity. "During his readings he used groans, moans, shouts, and echoes"(Davidas 268). Hughes made his poetry readings more like concerts.
His favorite pastime was sitting in the clubs listening to jazz and blues. This is where he wrote a lot of his poetry that consisted of jazz music. Here he could listen to the pain and suffering the musicians endured through their music, thus making his poems more meaningful. During the Harlem Renaissance, Jazz music was known for being the life of the party. It served as a language of communication for African Americans during this time period.