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Every artist has his or her own unique techniques to create meaning within their works. Some are common and others are very different. Langston Hughes was one of the earliest innovators of a new form of poetry called jazz poetry. He was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. At first, Hughes lived with his grandmother in Lawrence, Kansas until he turned thirteen and he started living with his mother in Lincoln, Illinois. Later, he went to Cleveland, Ohio for high school and started to write for the first time. After high school, Hughes went to Mexico to visit his father to ask him to pay for his college at Columbia University in New York City. When he arrived in Mexico, there were tensions between him and his father because he …show more content…
To convince his father to pay for his tuition, Hughes sent his poetry to a magazine producer and it was accepted. Hughes then went to college for a year and after graduating he found Harlem. While Langston was in Harlem, he met other writers at the time such as Countee Cullen, Claude McCay, W.E.B. DuBois, and James Weldon Johnson as the Harlem Renaissance was beginning. The Harlem Renaissance, was an artistic movement that took place Harlem, and greatly influenced Hughes work. His fist published volume of poetry called “The Weary Blues”, won first prize in the poetry section of the 1925 Opportunity Magazine Literary Contest which helped start his career as a writer (Low). Hughes poetry contained rhythms from African American music which made him unique and allowed him to create his own kind of rhythm. Langston Hughes developed meaning in his work through the use of jazz poetry, personal experiences, and his …show more content…
Hughes would often travel to different countries such as the United States on lecture tours, and also abroad to the Soviet Union, Japan, and Haiti in the 1930s. During his exploration, he published poetry and prose during this time, and in 1934 he published his first collection of short stories, The Ways of White Folks. Hughes was the first person to depict the life of urban blacks in his work (Biography.com). Hughes is able create the urban life of blacks by using real experiences from the African American point of view. For example, in the poem, Flight, which was written in the 1930s, demonstrates real life experiences that may have happened. The poem’s setting takes place in a swamp. The main character is a black man who is accused of raping a white woman and is trying to escape from a lynch mob. Experiences such as the one in “Flight” intrigued readers and made Hughes poetry controversial and popular. The inspiration of his themes of his poetry came from experiences from an African American (Reid). Using these experiences created a theme of despair. Through his work, Hughes was protesting the African American’s social conditions. Hughes tried to inform people through his poetry of what African Americans were going through in their
The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son, explained the importance of the woman, light and darkness and strength in the African-American community. Hughes made a very clear and concise statement in focusing on women and the power they hold, light and darkness, and strength. Did his poems properly display the feelings of African-American’s in that time period? It is apparent that Hughes felt a sense of pride in his culture and what they had to endure. After all “Life ain’t been no crystal stair!”(Norton, Line 2, 2028)
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
Like most, the stories we hear as children leave lasting impacts in our heads and stay with us for lifetimes. Hughes was greatly influenced by the stories told by his grandmother as they instilled a sense of racial pride that would become a recurring theme in his works as well as become a staple in the Harlem Renaissance movement. During Hughes’ prominence in the 20’s, America was as prejudiced as ever and the African-American sense of pride and identity throughout the U.S. was at an all time low. Hughes took note of this and made it a common theme to put “the everyday black man” in most of his stories as well as using traditional “negro dialect” to better represent his African-American brethren. Also, at this time Hughes had major disagreements with members of the black middle class, such as W.E.B. DuBois for trying to assimilate and promote more european values and culture, whereas Hughes believed in holding fast to the traditions of the African-American people and avoid having their heritage be whitewashed by black intellectuals.
Langston Hughes was born on February 1st, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. He started education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He went on to write and publish his first work, a poem called, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” in Crisis magazine. He then continued his education at Columbia University in New York in 1921. He then lived for sometime in Paris and after returning to the United States, he worked in Washington D.C. as a busboy. Later after that, Vachel Lindsay discovered Hughes literary talents. Hughes talents did not only exist in poetry, he also expanded his talent into music, play writing, and short stories, for example the “Simple” stories. His most prominent work however was written and published during the Harlem Renaissance a time where many other African-American authors were showcasing their work and being published. Hughes however, stood above the rest with his multiple talents and work which spread across the board. The white society of America at the time of the Harlem Renaissance and years after began to label him as a radical. Hughes remained extremely prolific to the very end of his life. Hughes published over forty books, including a series of children’s books. However, if you add his translations and his many anthologies of black writing, the amount of books he has published would double. He remained a controversial figure, having been considered a dangerous radical in the 1940s. Hughes was now, as he retained his lifelong commitment to racial integration, rejected by 1960s radicals considered to be a part of the problem, rather than part of the solution. However, that would not stop Hughes from being recognized as one of the important black a...
When reading the literature of Langston Hughes, I cant help but feeling energetically charged and inspired. Equality, freedom, empowerment, renaissance, justice and perseverance, are just a taste of the subject matter Hughes offers. He amplifies his voice and beliefs through his works which are firmly rooted in race pride and race feeling. Hughes committed himself both to writing and to writing mainly about African Americans. His early love for the “wonderful world of books” was sparked by loneliness and parental neglect. He would soon lose himself in the works of Walt Whitman, Paul Laurence, Carl Sandburg and other literary greats which would lead to enhancing his ever so growing style and grace of oeuvre. Such talent, character, and willpower could only come from one’s life experiences. Hughes had allot to owe to influences such as his grandmother and great uncle John Mercer Langston - a famous African American abolitionist. These influential individuals helped mold Hughes, and their affect shines brightly through his literary works of art.
“Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.” –Edgar Allan Poe. Poetry is one of the world’s greatest wonders. It is a way to tell a story, raise awareness of a social or political issue, an expression of emotions, an outlet, and last but not least it is an art. Famous poet Langston Hughes uses his poetry as a musical art form to raise awareness of social injustices towards African-Americans during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. Although many poets share similarities with one another, Hughes creatively crafted his poetry in a way that was only unique to him during the 1920’s. He implemented different techniques and styles in his poetry that not only helped him excel during the 1920’s, but has also kept him relative in modern times. Famous poems of his such as a “Dream Deferred,” and “I, Too, Sing America” are still being studied and discussed today. Due to the cultural and historical events occurring during the 1920’s Langston Hughes was able to implement unique writing characteristics such as such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues that is demonstrative of his writing style. Langston Hughes use of distinct characteristics such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues helped highlight the plights of African-Americans during the Harlem Renaissance Era.
Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 and died May 22, 1967. Among many of his other accomplishments, Hughes was primarily known for his contribution to Jazz music in the early 20th century. His colorful, artistic, and descriptive works of literature was published and sold all throughout New York City, making him a contributor to the Harlem Renaissance movement as well. Interestingly enough I got the chance to attend a Jazz band performance by the Jazz Big Band at Westfield State University. This band showcased multiple different styles of Jazz such as swing, cool, experimental, and big band. They also played a lot of blues music, which is its own genre but incorporates Jazz elements into the songs. When observing the performance and reading a few of Hughes poems I can see that there are a few parallels between the two, such as repetition, race collaboration and rhythm.
Hughes, who claimed Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg, and Walt Whitman as his primary influences, is particularly known for his insightful, colorful portrayals of black life in America from the twenties through the sixties. He wrote novels, short stories and plays, as well as poetry, and is also known for his engagement with the world of jazz and the influence it had on his writing, as in "Montage of a Dream Deferred." His life and work were enormously important in shaping the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Unlike other notable black poets of the period—Claude McKay, Jean Toomer, and Countee Cullen—Hughes refused to differentiate between his personal experience and the common experience of black America. He wanted to tell the stories of his people in ways that reflected their actual culture, including both their suffering and their love of music, laughter, and language itself.
During the Harlem renaissance African American writers, artist and musicians flocked to Harlem, New York. The popularity of Jazz throughout American culture opened the door for African American voices to be heard. Most notably the voice of Langston Hughes. Since Jazz music was an important part of African American culture at the time, Hughes and others like him adapted the musical genre to create their own, African-American voices that could easily be distinguished from the work of white poets. Many of Hughes' poems sounded similar to the popular jazz and blues songs of the period. In his work he confronted racial stereotypes, protested social conditions, and expanded how African American’s viewed themselves. He was considered a “people’s poet” who tried to reeducate his readers by proving the theory of black people having many artistic talents was actually a reality.
The contradiction of being both black and American was a great one for Hughes. Although this disparity was troublesome, his situation as such granted him an almost begged status; due to his place as a “black American” poet, his work was all the more accessible. Hughes’ black experience was sensationalized. Using his “black experience” as a façade, however, Hughes was able to obscure his own torments and insecurities regarding his ambiguous sexuality, his parents and their relationship, and his status as a public figure.
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 ... ...
Langston Hughes was a large influence on the African-American population of America. Some of the ways he did this was how his poetry influenced Martin Luther King Jr. and the Harlem Renaissance. These caused the civil rights movement that resulted in African-Americans getting the rights that they deserved in the United States. Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. His parents divorced when he was young and his grandmother raised him. She got him into literature and education; she was one of the most important influences on him. He moved around a lot when he was young, due to his parents divorce, but remained a good student and graduated high school. After this he traveled the world and worked in different places, all the things he saw in his travels influenced him. In 1924 he settled down in Harlem where he became one of the important figures in the Harlem Renaissance. He enjoyed listening to blues and jazz in clubs while he wrote his poetry. The music that he enjoyed greatly influenced the style and rhythm of his poetry. The poem “Dream Variations” by Hughes is about an average African-American who dreams of a world where African-Americans are not looked at or treated differently and they can rest peacefully. Yet in real life this was not so, black people and white people were not equal. And the world was not as forgiving and nice as in their dream. This poem is a good example of Hughes writing because it is typical of three things. The first is the common theme of the average life of an African-American and their struggles. Secondly, the style of his writing which is based on the rhythm of jazz and blues- he uses a lot of imagery and similes. Lastly, his influences which are his lonely childhood and growing up as an Afric...
Langston Hughes was deemed the "Poet Laureate of the Negro Race," a fitting title which the man who fueled the Harlem Renaissance deserved. But what if looking at Hughes within the narrow confines of the perspective that he was a "black poet" does not fully give him credit or fully explain his works? What if one actually stereotypes Hughes and his works by these over-general definitions that cause readers to look at his poetry expecting to see "blackness?" Any person's unique experiences in life and the sense of personal identity this forms most definitely affects the way he or she views the world. This molded view of the world can, in turn, be communicated by the person through artistic expression. Taking this logic into account, to more fully comprehend the message and force of Hughes' poetry one must look, not just to his work, but also at the experiences in his life that constructed his ideas about society and his own identity. In looking at Hughes' biography, one studies his struggle to form a self-identity that reflected both his African American and mainstream white cultural influence; consequently, this mixing of black and white identity that occurred throughout Hughes' life is reflected in his poem "The Weary Blues."
He was raised by his grandmother until he was thirteen, until he moved to Lincoln, Illinois, it was in Lincoln where he began to write poetry. After Langston graduated from high
This helped Hughes become a major part of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. However, he quit his studies to continue writing poetry and find work. For a brief time, he lived in Paris and enhanced his literary compositions there. In 1925, while working as a busboy in Washington, D.C., Hughes met Vachel Lindsay, an American poet. With Hughes being new to the art of poetry, Lindsay was impressed enough to promote the works of an emerging Hughes.