A Drop of Patience

One of the great jazz novels of any era, A Drop of Patience tells the story of a blind horn player's journey through the themes of race, blindness, and music.

At the age of five, Ludlow Washington is given up by his parents to a brutal white-run state institution for blind African American children, where everyone is taught music--the only trade by which they are expected to make a living. Ludlow is a prodigy on the horn and at fifteen is purchased out of the Home by a bandleader in the fictive Southern town of New Marsails. By eighteen, he is married with a baby daughter, but as his reputation spreads, he seeks to grow musically, leaving his budding family for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in New York City. Navigating the worlds of music and race and women, Ludlow's career follows an arc towards collapse, a nervous breakdown, recovery, a long-delayed public recognition, only for him to finally abandon the spotlight and return to his roots and find solace in the black church.
A Drop of Patience is a brilliant portrayal of a jazz musician. It stands apart as an exemplary parable of African American history, of racial politics, and of musical creative genius.

Binding Type: Paperback
Author: Kelley, William Melvin
Published: 06/30/2020
Publisher: Anchor Books
ISBN: 9781984899316
Pages: 240
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.20w x 0.70d