Oakland Blues
Ishmael Reed uses the blues form in his own way in his poem “Oakland Blues.” The blues is a type of poem that traditionally makes a statement in the first line which is then repeated in the second line. The third line then provides a rhymed response. The repeated line could possibly be altered by a few words and/or rearranged creating a rhythmic or sonic device. However, when the second line is not altered it suggests “conviction, a sincerity and concern for clarity, or a willingness to repeatedly confront…a painful circumstance” (Patterson 189). Other classic blues devices include iambic pentameter and a caesura, which is an interruption or break in the lines. Ishmael Reed uses some of this classic blues form in his poem “Oakland Blues.”
Reed uses the common blues form of repetition, however he repeats the first and second line at the beginning of each stanza instead of just the first line: “they told you of the sickness/ almost eighteen months ago” (Reed 193). These two lines are repeated as the third and fourth line in the second stanza. These lines are not altered or rearranged in any way proving that this section of blues is creating that concern for clarity. This occurs again in the last stanza, as “O, it’s hard to come home, baby” and “To a house that’s still and stark” (Reed 194) are repeated with no changes. The discussion of sickness and the idea that it is hard to come home can be understood as the author trying to confront a painful circumstance. This is further proven by the word “stark” which is defined as severe or bare in appearance and rigid in or as if in death. This person in the poem is clearly struggling to confront a difficult situation and the repetition of these lines provides that concern for clarity that the person holds and is trying to relay to the audience. Reed does not exactly follow the blues form of repeating the first line immediately, but his modification of the form still creates that sense of concern and confronting a situation.
Reed, Ishmael. “Oakland Blues.” An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art. Edited by Annie Finch and Kathrine Varnes, U of Michigan P, 2016, p. 193.
