Houston Baker discusses his research on blues music and its place in American culture, which was published as Blues, Ideology, and Afro-American Literature: A Vernacular Theory. Short recorded examples illustrate early African-American influences on the blues style, such as the field holler and spirituals; blues music that expressed the marginalization and estrangement felt by blacks in America, and songs that reflected the political struggles of the civil rights era.
At the time of this interview, Baker, a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1982-83), was professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
