Blues Expressiveness and the Blues Ethos

Authors

Adam Gussow, University of Mississippi

Files

Description

At the University of Mississippi, Adam Gussow teaches a survey course of the blues literary tradition, offering students relevant writings by Steven C. Tracy, Kalamu ya Salaam, Barry Lee Pearson, and W. C. Handy, in addition to his own writings about the blues.

"Blues songs often state a problem, let it simmer and intensify, then pose a provisional solution. What generates the solution, as often as not, is the blues ethos: the blues philosophy of life. The blues ethos, as a concept, is multipronged, not unitary. It is a handful of attitudes and strategies for coping gracefully with the worst that life can throw at you."

Publication Date

1-24-2018

Relational Format

journal article

Recommended Citation

Gussow, Adam, "Blues Expressiveness and the Blues Ethos" (2018). Study the South. 15.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/studythesouth/15

Accessibility Status

Searchable text