Hughes (1902-1969) described his mission as a writer to explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America. His poetry was heavily influenced by black oral tradition, jazz, and folklore, and he continually attempted to mirror the black experience, in all its diversity, in his work. This volume of the COLLECTED WORKS OF LANGSTON HUGHES includes four books of his verse in their entirety, THE WEARY BLUES (1926), FINE CLOTHES TO THE JEW (1927), DEAR LOVELY DEATH (1931,) and A NEW SONG (1938).