---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My greatest influence has been the blues…"
description: "\"My greatest influence has been the blues. And that's a literary influence, because I think the blues is the best literature that we as black Americans ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/august-wilson-3646_best-literature_my-greatest-influence-has-been-the-blues_3123038.png"
---

#  My greatest influence has been the blues. And that's a…

![“My greatest influence has been the blues. And that's a literary influence, because I think the blues is the best literature that we as black Americans have.” quote by August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/august-wilson-3646_best-literature_my-greatest-influence-has-been-the-blues_3123038.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/august-wilson-3646_best-literature_my-greatest-influence-has-been-the-blues_3123038.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/august-wilson-3646_best-literature_my-greatest-influence-has-been-the-blues_3123038.png)

> “My greatest influence has been the blues. And that's a literary influence, because I think the blues is the best literature that we as black Americans have.”

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The blues are portrayed as a profound literary tradition that captures Black American experience and storytelling.

**In simple terms:** Blues is essential literature for Black Americans.

Key Takeaway

Value cultural art forms as literature.

Themes

culture heritage literature music identity

Mood

reflective proud educational

Type

cultural inspirational literary

When to use this quote

- theatre performance
- musical education
- cultural preservation
- personal identity

Key Concepts

African American studies artistic expression historical narrative

Questions to Reflect On

- How does music shape your personal narrative?
- What other art forms tell your community’s story?

A Different Perspective

May overlook other literary influences.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Best literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-literature/) [Black americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-americans/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/)

## Related quotes

> [“The Runaway Five's obvious influence is The Blues Brothers. During localization, their black and white suits were made more colorful to avoid legal action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-baumann/the-runaway-five-s-obvious-influence-is-the-blues-brothers-during/)

[Ken Baumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-baumann/)

> [“I had to go to literature to survive. It was through literature such as Black Spring that I came to a deeper understanding of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/i-had-to-go-to-literature-to-survive-it-was-through-literature-such/)

[Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/)

> [I think the blues is the best literature that we as blacks have created since we've been here. I call it our 'sacred book.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-think-the-blues-is-the-best-literature-that-we-as-blacks-have/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

> [I don't know if nature is a direct literary influence on my writing, but it is certainly important to me. I take great joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/i-don-t-know-if-nature-is-a-direct-literary-influence-on-my-writing/)

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

> [“Never underestimate the value of superior hair as a literary influence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/never-underestimate-the-value-of-superior-hair-as-a-literary-influence/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [A literary influence is never just a literary influence. It's also an influence in the way you see everything - in the way you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/a-literary-influence-is-never-just-a-literary-influence-it-s-also-an/)

[Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/)

> [My father is my biggest literary influence. Recently, I've been looking through his letters. He was in the National Guard when I was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/my-father-is-my-biggest-literary-influence-recently-i-ve-been-looking/)

[Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/)

> [“Reading good literature is not so different then taking good drugs, do it enough and it will certainly alter your mind. The drugs can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-james-pritchard/reading-good-literature-is-not-so-different-then-taking-good-drugs-do/)

[Andrew James Pritchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-james-pritchard/)

> [In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/in-my-younger-and-more-vulnerable-years-my-father-gave-me-some-advice-2/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [No fiction is worth reading except for entertainment. If it entertains and is clean, it is good literature, or its kind. If it forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/no-fiction-is-worth-reading-except-for-entertainment-if-it-entertains/)

[Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/)

> [ The best literature is always a take \[in the musical sense\]; there is an implicit risk in its execution, a margin of danger that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/the-best-literature-is-always-a-take-in-the-musical-sense-there-is-an/)

[Julio Cortazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/)

> [The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-only-people-for-me-are-the-mad-ones-the-ones-who-are-mad-to-live-3/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [Because the only people for me are the mad ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/because-the-only-people-for-me-are-the-mad-ones/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [You don't know about me, without you have read a book by the name of 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,' but that ain't no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-don-t-know-about-me-without-you-have-read-a-book-by-the-name-of/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [Everything that is printed and bound in a book contains some echo at least of the best that is in literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/everything-that-is-printed-and-bound-in-a-book-contains-some-echo-at/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

## More by August Wilson

> [Most of black America is in housing projects, without jobs, living on welfare. And this is not the case in 'The Cosby Show,' because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/most-of-black-america-is-in-housing-projects-without-jobs-living-on/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

> [I just write stuff down and pile it up, and when I get enough stuff, I spread it out and look at it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-just-write-stuff-down-and-pile-it-up-and-when-i-get-enough-stuff-i/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

> [I don't look at our society today too much. My focus is still in the past, and part of the reason is because what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-don-t-look-at-our-society-today-too-much-my-focus-is-still-in-the/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

> [The director works as an interpretive artist, but he's still an artist, so you also have to give him room to create and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/the-director-works-as-an-interpretive-artist-but-he-s-still-an-artist/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

> [I dropped out of school, but I didn't drop out of life. I would leave the house each morning and go to the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-dropped-out-of-school-but-i-didn-t-drop-out-of-life-i-would-leave/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

> [When I first started writing plays I couldn't write good dialogue because I didn't respect how black people talked. I thought that in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/when-i-first-started-writing-plays-i-couldn-t-write-good-dialogue/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

> [“Like you? I go out of here every morning...bust my butt...cause I like you? It's my job. It's my responsibility!... Not cause I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/like-you-i-go-out-of-here-every-morning-bust-my-butt-cause-i-like-you/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

> [“-How long you been with the rail road now? -Twenty-seven years. Now, I'll tell you something about the railroad. What I done learned after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/how-long-you-been-with-the-rail-road-now-twenty-seven-years-now-i-ll/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

> [Scripts were rather scarce in 1968. We did a lot of Amiri Baraka's plays, the agitprop stuff he was writing. It was at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/scripts-were-rather-scarce-in-1968-we-did-a-lot-of-amiri-baraka-s/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

> [All you need in the world is love and laughter. That's all anybody needs. To have love in one hand and laughter in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/all-you-need-in-the-world-is-love-and-laughter-that-s-all-anybody/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

> [I ain't never found no place for me to fit. Seem like all I do is start over. It ain't nothing to find no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-ain-t-never-found-no-place-for-me-to-fit-seem-like-all-i-do-is/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

> [I don't write for a particular audience. I work as an artist, and I think the audience of one, which is the self, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-don-t-write-for-a-particular-audience-i-work-as-an-artist-and-i/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

> [I dont write particularly to effect social change. I believe writing can do that, but thats not why I write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-dont-write-particularly-to-effect-social-change-i-believe-writing/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

> [“Don't try and go through life worrying about if somebody like you or not. You best be making sure they doing right by you,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/don-t-try-and-go-through-life-worrying-about-if-somebody-like-you-or/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

> [Suffice it to say, I'm not poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/suffice-it-to-say-i-m-not-poor/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

[Explore all 124 August Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

## More Best literature quotes

> [ The best literature is always a take \[in the musical sense\]; there is an implicit risk in its execution, a margin of danger that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/the-best-literature-is-always-a-take-in-the-musical-sense-there-is-an/)

[Julio Cortazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/)

> [Because the only people for me are the mad ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/because-the-only-people-for-me-are-the-mad-ones/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [You don't know about me, without you have read a book by the name of 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,' but that ain't no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-don-t-know-about-me-without-you-have-read-a-book-by-the-name-of/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [Everything that is printed and bound in a book contains some echo at least of the best that is in literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/everything-that-is-printed-and-bound-in-a-book-contains-some-echo-at/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-only-people-for-me-are-the-mad-ones-the-ones-who-are-mad-to-live-3/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [No fiction is worth reading except for entertainment. If it entertains and is clean, it is good literature, or its kind. If it forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/no-fiction-is-worth-reading-except-for-entertainment-if-it-entertains/)

[Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/)

> [In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/in-my-younger-and-more-vulnerable-years-my-father-gave-me-some-advice-2/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“Reading good literature is not so different then taking good drugs, do it enough and it will certainly alter your mind. The drugs can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-james-pritchard/reading-good-literature-is-not-so-different-then-taking-good-drugs-do/)

[Andrew James Pritchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-james-pritchard/)

> [All the world's a stage, and all the men and women mearly players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/all-the-world-s-a-stage-and-all-the-men-and-women-mearly-players/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [I think the blues is the best literature that we as blacks have created since we've been here. I call it our 'sacred book.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-think-the-blues-is-the-best-literature-that-we-as-blacks-have/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

> [Accused of spreading pornography on the communications revolution, notat all fair, here are the best of literature available that you do not assimilate;In fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/accused-of-spreading-pornography-on-the-communications-revolution/)

Mak\_786

> [I think that the best literature has a core that you can't lock to a time or place but that can generate lots of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/i-think-that-the-best-literature-has-a-core-that-you-can-t-lock-to-a/)

[Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/)

[Browse all 13 Best literature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-literature/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "My greatest influence has been the blues. And that's a literary influence, because I think the blues is the best literature that we as black Americans have.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "August Wilson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/my-greatest-influence-has-been-the-blues-and-that-s-a-literary/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Best literature"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/my-greatest-influence-has-been-the-blues-and-that-s-a-literary/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/august-wilson-3646_best-literature_my-greatest-influence-has-been-the-blues_3123038.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/august-wilson-3646_best-literature_my-greatest-influence-has-been-the-blues_3123038.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/august-wilson-3646_best-literature_my-greatest-influence-has-been-the-blues_3123038.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“My greatest influence has been the blues. And that's a literary influence, because I think the blues is the…” — August Wilson",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "August Wilson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "My greatest influence has been the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/my-greatest-influence-has-been-the-blues-and-that-s-a-literary/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/my-greatest-influence-has-been-the-blues-and-that-s-a-literary/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
