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Langston Hughes was one of the great writers of his time. He was named the “most renowned African American poet of the 20th century” (McLaren). Through his writing he made many contributions to following generations by writing about African American issues in creative ways including the use of blues and jazz. Langston Hughes captured the scene of Harlem life in the early 20th century significantly influencing American Literature. He once explained that his writing was an attempt to “explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America” (Daniel 760). To fulfill this task, he wrote 15 volumes of poetry, six novels, three books, 11 plays, and a variety of non-fiction work (Daniel 760). He also edited over 50 books in his time (McKay).
James Mercer Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri February 1, 1902. He grew up in Lawrence, Kansas. His life was hard when he was young; his parents were separated with little money to go around, and he was very lonely. “Po’ Boy Blues” expresses how he felt during those times:
When I was home de
Sunshine seemed like gold.
Since I come up North de
Whole damn world's turned cold.
I was a good boy,
Never done no wrong.
Yes, I was a good boy,
Never done no wrong,
But this world is weary
An' de road is hard an' long.
Hughes lived with his relatives and moved around much throughout the first part of his life. He learned quickly to be independent. During part of his childhood, Hughes lived with his grandmother who taught him many stories and life lessons. At the age of 13, he moved back with his mother and her second husband in Illinois. Hughes entered Columbia University, New York in the fall of 1921. He soon abandoned his studies and in the fall of 1923, he sailed as a steward on a freighter, the S.S. West Hesseltine, to the West Coast of Africa where he learned about African culture.
Soon after, in 1924, he traveled to Paris to work as a cook’s helper at a nightclub that featured primarily African-American performers. Experiences there inspired him to experiment more with jazz and blues rhythms in his poetry (Rempersad 286). Leaving Paris a year later, he returned to the United States, where he worked menial jobs to support himself while writing poetry. Five years later, Hughes earned enough money to be able to attend and graduate from Lincoln University...
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...tively capture the scene of Harlem life.
Works Cited
Bell-Russel, Danna. Rev. of Library Journal, by Darralynn Hutson and Jamal Joseph. Hughes’ Harlem Dream. 2003 .
Beqilacqua, Winifred Farant. “Langston Hughes.” Dictionary of Literary Biography. 1989. Gale Group. 18 Apr. 2004 .
Daniel, Kathleen, et al, ed. Elements of Literature. 5th edition. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2003. 760-67.
Dickinson, Donald D. “Langston Hughes.” American Writers. Supp. I, Part 1. Ed. Leonard Unger. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1979. 320-48.
Hart, James D. “Hughes, Langston.” The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1965. 393-94.
Martinson, Deborah. “Langston Hughes.” Dictionary of Literary Biography. 2000. Gale Group. 18 Apr. 2004 .
McKay, Nellie Y. “Hughes, Langston.” World Book Online Reference Center. 2004. World Book. 18 Apr. 2004 .
McLaren, Joseph. Rev. of Research in African Literatures, by Steven C. Tracy. Langston Hughes and the Blues. Fall 2003 .
Rapersad, Arnold. “Hughes, James Langston.” Dictionary of American Biography. Supp. Eight. Ed. John Garraty and Mark Carnes. New York: Charles Schribner’s Son, 1988. 285-89.
Langston Hughes parents then separated. Since his mother moved from city to city in search of work he lived in Lawrence, Kansas, with his grandmother named Mary Hughes. She fiercely opposed to racial discrimination. While growing up, Langston also stayed with friends of the family, James and Mary Reed. Living with his grandmother and the Reeds in all-white neighborhoods, he felt even more isolated.
For example, Rediker only mentions American president Martin Van Buren in the Amistad Rebellion after the victory in which a Connecticut circuit court ruled in favor of the African captives. Perhaps the author could more extensively discuss the political implications of the Amistad Rebellion in American politics. What we read in the book is “Martin Van Buren supported the Spanish crown.” Perhaps readers could benefit from a more in-depth discussion of how the political elite in the United States responded to the rebellion and the court cases that soon followed. Even though this is an unfortunate shortcoming of the book, it does not necessarily detract from the overall argument of the book - which is that the Amistad Rebellion drastically changed the institution of
Hughes mother went through protracted separations and reconciliations in her second marriage (she and her son from this marriage would live with him off and on in later years. He was raised by alternately by her, by his maternal grandmother, and, after his grandmother’s death, by family friends. By the time he was fourteen, he had lived in Joplin; Buffalo; Cleveland; Lawrence, Kansas; Mexico City; Topeka, Kansas; Colorado Springs; Kansas City; and Lincoln, Illinois. In 1915, he was class poet of his grammar-school graduating class in Lincoln. From 1916 to 1920, he attended Central High School in Cleveland, where he was a star athlete, wrote poetry and short stories (and published many of them in the Central High Monthly), and on his own read such modern poets as Paul Laurence Dunbar, Edgar Lee Masters, Vachel Lindsay, and Carl Sandburg. His classmates were for the most part the children of European immigrants, who treated him largely without discrimination and introduced him to leftist political ideas.
Hughes, Langston. “Militant.” History is a Weapon: A Selection of the Poetry of Langston Hughes, n.d. 29 April, 2014.
Hughes, Langston “I, Too.” Poems, Poets, Poetry: An Introduction and Anthology. 3rd ed. Ed. Helen Vendler.
Hughes, a.k.a. Langston, a.k.a. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed.
"A Centennial Tribute to Langston Hughes." Library System - Howard University. Howard University, n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.
Hughes started writing poetry when he was in Lincoln (“Langston Hughes”). After graduating from high school, Hughes spent a year in Mexico followed by a year at Columbia University in New York City. During this time, he acquired menial jobs but, when he moved to Washington D.C. in November 1924, Alfred A. Knopf, published his first book The Weary Blues.... ... middle of paper ... ...
During the 1920's and 30’s, America went through a period of astonishing artistic creativity, the majority of which was concentrated in one neighborhood of New York City, Harlem. The creators of this period of growth in the arts were African-American writers and other artists. Langston Hughes is considered to be one of the most influential writers of the period know as the Harlem Renaissance. With the use of blues and jazz Hughes managed to express a range of different themes all revolving around the Negro. He played a major role in the Harlem Renaissance, helping to create and express black culture. He also wrote of political views and ideas, racial inequality and his opinion on religion. I believe that Langston Hughes’ poetry helps to capture the era know as the Harlem Renaissance.
Hughes, Langston. “Visitors to the Black Belt”, Note on Commercial Theatre”, “Democracy”, Theme for English B” : The Norton Anthology of English Literature Gen. ed.
The Collection Poems of Langston Hughes, Rapersad, A. & Roessel, D. ( Eds.) (1995) , New York, Vintage Books
Hughes, Langston. "Harlem (A Dream Deferred)." Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, and Robert Funk. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River. Prentice, 2002. 534.
Rampersad, Arnold. The Life of Langston Hughes. Volume 1: 1902-1941. Oxford University Press, New York, 1986.
Hughes, Langston. The Negro mother, and other dramatic recitations. Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1971. Print.
Hughes, a.k.a. Langston, a.k.a. The "Harlem". The [1951] Literature. 5th ed.