The Evolution of Jazz and Blues as Cultural Kernels

This book investigates the role of jazz and blues, as cultural kernels, in Komunyakaa's "Copacetic" using dual inheritance theory as a reading mechanism. The book divides Copacetic into four groups illustrating different modes of cultural transmission through jazz and blues. The first group "African American background", (which shows signs of cultural evolution), contextualizes the study of jazz and blues as important expression of African American history and provides a necessary framework for the other three ones. The second one, "Blues as part of poems' titles" illustrates horizontal transmission. The third, "Jazz and Blues figures mentioned in the poems" shows frequency-based bias. The fourth, "Jazz and Blues figures as titles of the poems" underscores the importance of these figures as model-based bias. Put together, the four groups crystallize the important role jazz and blues play as cultural kernels in the transmission of African American culture from generation to generation and to the other everywhere.