Langston Hughes and His Poetry Over thirty years after his death, Langston Hughes still remains one of the most influential writers of our time. His life, so full of passion due to the events he experienced from his childhood to young adulthood, is reflected in all of his written works. Heartaches and joys taught this man to understand all emotions and skill allowed him to place his thoughts on paper for the world to see, hear, and feel. A history of what Langston Hughes has lived through lies within each piece he has written. Early in his life, Hughes was subjected to the pain of losing a parent. Though not through death, the loss of his father due to his parents' separation caused him great pain. With only one parent in care of him, Hughes spent the majority of his youth living in poverty. When he grew older he allowed his distant father to support his college education for the first year. At the closing of his freshman year, Hughes found that he did not want his life to continue in that direction and withdrew from Columbia University. After working numerous menial jobs, Hughes stumbled upon a profession that truly suited him. He became a merchant seaman and recurrently visited various ports in West Africa. From these travels he learned that he loved seeing new and foreign places. Instead of returning to the United States, Hughes spent time living in far off places such as Pans, Genoa, and Rome. In each location he gathered information and experience that he began writing about. Upon returning to the U.S., Hughes released his first publication and gained instant attention and fame. Now comfortable with what he wanted for his life, Hughes returned to college and grad... ... middle of paper ... ...suffering and the goodness that he experienced throughout his life helped mold his work into the inspiration that it became to so many people. Works Cited Hughes, Langston. "Black Identity and Langston Hughes" The Craft of Literature third edition. Gioia, Dana and Kennedy X.J. New York: Longman, 2003. 772-773. Hughes, Langston. "End." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 3rd Compact ed. New York: Longman, 2003. Pg.766. Hughes, Langston. "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" The Craft of Literature third edition. Gioia, Dana and Kennedy X.J. New York: Longman, 2003. 766-767. Hughes, Langston. "The Negro Speaks of Rivers." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 3rd Compact ed. New York: Longman, 2003. Pg.759.
Then by Morris Gleitzman is a war fiction novel about the life of two children, Felix and Zelda during wartime Poland. Then is first published in 2008 and is printed in Australia. Morris Gletizman’s message in the book allows readers to remember and relive the memory of the unforgettable history period of the Holocaust and the Nazis. Gleitzman wanted to show the rare kindness of people during wartime and the effect it had on children like the main characters, Felix and Zelda.
Hughes, Langston. “Lenox Avenue: Midnight.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 3rd Compact ed. New York: Longman 2003. 760.
Langston Hughes was an African American poet who emerged during the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance strongly influenced most of Langston Hughes’s writing. In such works as “Dream”, “Still Here”, “Dream Deferred”, and “Justice” you see the clear messages that are trying to be voiced through his work.
Langston Hughes, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” Modern American Poetry, http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/g_l/hughes/mountain.htm (accessed June 27, 2008).
Tracy, Stephen C. "Langston Hughes: Poetry, Blues, and Gospel--Somewhere to Stand." Trotman, C. James, ed. Langston
Few poets in the twentieth century, and perhaps even in any century, can be compared to Langston Hughes. Hughes wrote with his heart and soul, creating poems that everyone could understand. He expressed love for all races, colors, and religions and did not judge anybody until he had reason to judge them. He wrote to entertain, to inspire, to teach, and to make a point. His way with words made him the most popular and prolific black writer of the twentieth century (Offinoski, 32).
Hughes, Langston. “Harlem”. 1951. Approaching Literature: Reading + Thinking + Writing. 3rd ed. Ed. Peter Shakel and Jack Ridl. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 1066-1072. Print.
Hughes, Langston. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. 11th ed. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2013. 1278. Print.
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.
Hughes, Langston. The Negro mother, and other dramatic recitations. Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1971. Print.
Volume D consisted of poetry from various authors, one of whom was famous jazz poet Langston Hughes. Hughes was an African-American man who was born in Joplin, Missouri. He was very innovative with his style of poetry, and was a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. His poetry dealt heavily with the Black experience in America, and he was famously known for poems such as “I, too”, “Visitors to the Black Belt”, and “Words Like Freedom.” These poems relate mostly to the theme of diverse voices and each one is shows insight to Hughes’s personal connection to his work.
Rampersad, Arnold. "Hughes, Langston (1902–1967)." African American Writers. Ed. Valerie Smith. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001. 367-78. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. .
In his poems, Langston Hughes treats racism not just a historical fact but a “fact” that is both personal and real. Hughes often wrote poems that reflect the aspirations of black poets, their desire to free themselves from the shackles of street life, poverty, and hopelessness. He also deliberately pushes for artistic independence and race pride that embody the values and aspirations of the common man. Racism is real, and the fact that many African-Americans are suffering from a feeling of extreme rejection and loneliness demonstrate this claim. The tone is optimistic but irritated. The same case can be said about Wright’s short stories. Wright’s tone is overtly irritated and miserable. But this is on the literary level. In his short stories, he portrays the African-American as a suffering individual, devoid of hope and optimism. He equates racism to oppression, arguing that the African-American experience was and is characterized by oppression, prejudice, and injustice. To a certain degree, both authors are keen to presenting the African-American experience as a painful and excruciating experience – an experience that is historically, culturally, and politically rooted. The desire to be free again, the call for redemption, and the path toward true racial justice are some of the themes in their
Langston Hughes lived from early to mid-twentieth century America, a time period filled with racism and oppression of African Americans. Hughes, who is an avid poet, playwright, writer, and scholar, brilliantly speaks not only to the problems he faced, but also to his hopeful dreams of a brighter future in his works. The harsh racial discrimination he encountered, along with the experience granted to him by his diverse heritage, essentially shaped every aspect of his life. Hughes 's struggles are reflected within his very being, and are seen publically in his beliefs and literary pursuits. Specifically, in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, Hughes uses poetry to protest racism by embracing the deep roots of African American’s ancestry.
Critical Essays on Langston Hughes.