The Influence of the Spirituals and Expressions of Blues and Jazz

Please read the following selections in your coursepack:

• - Gilyard, Keith and Anissa Wardi. African American Literature.
  • - Chapter 2 Introduction, “The Influence of the Spirituals”
  • - Anonymous. “God’s Going to Trouble the Water”
  • - Hayden, Robert. “Runagate Runagate”
  • - Chapter 5 Introduction, “Expressions of Blues and Jazz”
  • - Handy, W. C. “St. Louis Blues”
  • - Sanchez, Sonia. “a/coltrane/poem.”

Please read the following online article:

• - Donovan, Matt. "Things in the Form of a Prayer in the Form of a Wail," Massachusetts Review, 57, no. 4, 2016, pp. 632 – 644.

Please listen to the following songs:

• - John Coltrane, “My Favorite Things”
• - The Edwin Hawkins Singers, “O Happy Day”
• - W.C. Handy’s Orchestra, “St. Louis Blues”

Answer this (around 200 words):

Music has always been an integral part of African American culture and literature. Discuss briefly how the Negro spirituals, the blues, or jazz have had an impact upon African American literature. Choose only one of the three for your initial posting and then respond to your various classmates’ postings of the other two musical influences. Use direct evidence from this unit’s assigned reading and audio selections to support your point of view.

And respond to two other students answer (I will send you privately).