minstrely

Updated: May 27, 2025

There was a period in my latter boyhood when comic song-books, mostly of the Negro minstrely sort, satisfied my craving for poetic literature. I used to learn the songs by heart and invent and extemporize tunes for them. To this day I can repeat some of those rank Negro songs. My taste for books began early, but my taste for good literature was of a much later and of slow growth.

John Burroughs - My Boyhood