Langston Hughes: A Poet Supreme

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Langston Hughes: A Poet Supreme

Black poetry is poetry that (1) is grounded in the black experience; (2) utilizes black music as a structural or emulative model; and (3) "consciously" transforms the prevailing standards of poetry through and inconoclastic and innovative use of language.

No poet better carries the mantle of model and innovator the Langston Hughes, the prolific Duke Ellington of black poetry. Hughes's output alone is staggering. During his lifetime, he published over eight hundred poems. Moreover, he single-handedly defined "blues poetry" and is arguably the first major "jazz" poet. Early in his career he realized the importance of "reading" his poetry to receptive audiences. "When Alain Locke arranged a poetry reading by Hughes before the Playwriter's Circle in 1972 in Washington, a blues pianist accompanied him, bringing Hughes the artist and blues music one step closer together, even though Hughes felt that the piano player was 'too polished.' He suggested to his Knopf editor that they ought to get 'a regular Lenox Avenue blues boy' to accompany him at his reading in New York." In the fifties Hughes was a major voice in the movement of recording with jazz accompaniment.

Although I have neither the space, inclination, or ability to give a close textual reading of Hughes's poetry and although a large body of critical work already exists, I would like to focus on one piece by Hughes to evidence my case for his stature. That piece is the multipart, book-lenght poem Montage of a Dream Deferred (1951).

In Montage, which Hughes described in a letter to Arna Bontemps as "what you might call a precedent shattering opus-also could be known as a tour de force," Hughes addresses a number of critical pro...

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...as been denied both the appropriate formal awards and informal kudos, as well as significant posthumous awards from the American literacy establishment. Perhaps there is no suprise here because the elevation of self-determined blackness, especially outside of sports and entertainment, is usually greeted by deafening silence from both critical as well as the popular authorities of the status quo. How else could it be? To achieve blackness is inherently a liberating act, and liberation is neccessarily disruptive of the status quo.

From my personal perspective, I feel that not just African American poetry, but poetry in itself has deep internal impacts on people in general. Self expression, life experiences, and point-of-views are all expressed in Poetry. As a poet, I hope to make my mark and contribution to African Americans as Langston Hughes has done for me.

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