Ten Things about Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes: A Key Figure of the Harlem Renaissance

Langston Hughes is a well-known Black American poet of the twentieth century and a key figure of the Harlem Renaissance. As a poet, he was instrumental in condemning segregationist and racial injustice practices by speaking against Black people while still making a living as a novelist – implying that he spoke to whites. In other words, he catered to both White and Black audiences (Leach XIII). One of Hughes innovation as a writer involved the incorporation of African American vernacular in his works; for instance, he managed to employ African American traditions and black music in most of his poems. Although the majority of the readers recognize him as a poet; Hughes has two novels, auto biographies, around 30 stage plays, and opera librettos just to mention a few. Other than writing, he utilized his space in the Chicago Defender newspaper to explore issues touching on the people of color. Hughes equally worked as a translator and as an author of children’s stories.

What was Langston Hughes Role in the Harlem Renaissance?

Hughes had always wanted to visit Harlem; as a result, his arrival in Manhattan in 1921 resembled a dream partially realized. Many people had nick named Harlem “the Negro City” because no Blacks had inhabited the city by 1905; nonetheless, Hughes arrived at a time the Whites had become an uneasy minority. Hughes had just secured an admission at Columbia University to study engineering where he encountered numerous financial and social problems during his stay (Leach 16). Based on his experiences in Manhattan and Harlem; Hughes employed his writing prowess to criticize the competitive nature of most of the White people who did not see the Black Americans as their equals (Leach 15). He took advantage of some of the weekly magazines such as The Crisis where one of his best poems titled “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” was published (Leach 16). Most of his literary works were in line with the political, economic, and social ideologies of some of his predecessors such as W.E. B. DuBois who worked with The Crisis as an editor from 1910.

How did Langston Hughes use Poetry to Disguise Politics?

Many people worldwide view politics as a dangerous encounter; however, great poets like Hughes disagree with such a statement. On this note, Hughes proposes a twofold disguise in most of his literary publications. He argues that one can use poetry to conceal politics; conversely, he suggests that politics should be left to remain just as constitutive as people have always thought (Walkowitz 495). This argument implies that Hughes believed literature can conceal a lot of political issues while revealing the same factors because politics in its natural sense is always unmasked. Hughes thus wanted the readers to recognize his works as an art while appreciating that societal social institutions and prejudiced assumptions of thought shape most of the literary aesthetics. Notably, Hughes and Harlem Renaissance poetics had competing impulses; that is, the need for social recognition and acceptance in the U.S. society and the longing to establish the African American vernacular devalued by most universal protocols.

How does Langston Hughes Qualify as a Jazz Griot?

A griot as defined by Marcoux refers to a French word used in West African states to mean a story teller or a musician (38). Consequently, Hughes qualifies as a jazz griot given his ability to act as a repository for African American oral tradition coupled with the capacity to relay it to the audience. The West African society expected a griot to have a perfect mastery of several traditional oral kinds of literature and blend it with a vast knowledge of contemporary societal affairs (Grant & Shelby 77). Hughes utilized black music – jazz to engage his readers and listeners on issues affecting the Black Americans and to address their identity at the turn of the 20TH century (Marcoux 10). Indeed, Hughes works not only present the relationship between music and politics; but also delineate the experiences of the Black people and traditional practices thus conducting the functions of an African griot. Equally important, Hughes asserts the need for the U.S. society to recognize the African American expressive culture and the importance of liberation.

How does Hughes’ Song Ask Your Mama Depict him as Story Teller of Black Culture?

Ask Your Mama remain one of the most celebrated poems created by Hughes based on its textual rendition. The song’s artistic composition that confirms Africa as a poetic and cultural repository distinguishes it from other pieces done by the same author. Hughes uses blues as an example of blackness and political resistance that pours the rivers of their ancestors (Marcoux 38). Performing his works through blues acts as a reminder to his fellow Africans concerning various battles to be fought and the barriers they have to overcome to proclaim their cultural identity and individuality. The use of jazz hermeneutics in the poem Ask Your Mama allows the readers to understand Hughes definition of Blackness from an “African” context. It is only through the black vernacular that Hughes could vividly describe the problems affecting the Black individuals and propose workable solutions to social issues such as racial segregation. Therefore, Hughes uses blues and jazz in his works to present the historiographical trajectory of the Black traditions.

Was Langston Hughes a Socialist or he Only Wrote about it?

Many scholars have found it difficult to present accurate criticisms about the works of Langston Hughes, particularly his political life. For instance, Hughes association with Afro-Caribbean traditions and the support accorded to Harlem Poets by USSR make many view him as a socialist. Arguably, many critics assume Hughes ingenious approaches of moving between writing and activism as the basis of his much-celebrated success (Scott 6). Hughes used his column in The Chicago Defender to criticize most of the oppressive policies that affected the people of color within the U.S. and beyond. Nonetheless, he agitated for the rights of all low-class people in America much of his works leaned towards the Blacks. As stated earlier, Hughes employed the literary power to fight power imperialism; for example one of his poems “Scottsboro” which nine boys from the death penalty. The case was supported by Communist Party USA a matter make many believe that he had connections with communism. Such works vividly demonstrate Hughes admiration for communism policies.

Why did Hughes Turn Away from Socialist Policies?

Some of Hughes’ friends such as W. E. B. Du Bois was arrested by the U.S. government for working with a foreign power without a permit. The government assumed that Du Bois alongside his other three friends were engaged by the Soviet Union; despite working on a disarmament mission; this was contrary to the security requirements leading to their arrest. Although Du Bois was finally released; the issue created significant ostracism in the country resulting in the intentional seclusion of Blacks in political and social affairs (Grant & Shelby 131). Hughes thus decided to minimize his association with most of the leftist groups declining many invitations to participate in high profile meetings or append his signature fearing the government could come after him. Anti-communism pressure continued to pile making to decline literary awards that required him to make public denunciation on socialist issues (Grant & Shelby 132). The situation continued to worsen for Hughes with invitations requiring him to appear Senate committees a factor that led to his arrest and final jailing.

Why did Langston Hughes choose to concentrate on Low-Class Instead of the High Class?

Many continue to criticize Hughes for his continued concentration on Folkways, African American language, and fundamental factors surrounding the low class. Such critics argue that Hughes propositions regarding the Black people have failed to give a progressive perspective of them. On the contrary, Hughes argues that as an honest social writer he does not understand the lives of the wealthy class in the U.S., as a consequence he has little to write about them. He argues that the Black individuals deserve his sympathy and literary works; not for any reason but as human beings with dignity and as ”good people.“ On the other hand, some scholars have objected to such criticism by appreciating Hughes approach to African Americans’ traditions, language development and his dream for the people of color as a whole. In this context, Hughes plays the role of a father; he guides a society through well-crafted poems accompanied by jazz and blues aspects in ways that were unprecedented in the U.S.’ history.

How does Social, Political and Economic State in Harlem Present Dual Society?

Most of the works by Hughes such as the poem ”The Negro Speaks of Rivers“ present a people on the verge of creating their urban city. Nonetheless, Harlem is the single city inhabited by African Americans by this time; its story remains controversial in several ways; especially as the hub of African culture. The city has one of the worst ghettos compared those in other cities around coupled with poor living conditions. Another poem The Weary Blues tries to define the life in Harlem at night and the way people feel happy dancing to the tunes of blues and jazz despite their deprived condition. It sounds ironical that Hughes primarily concentrates on ”twoness“ where Africans view themselves as a different group of people than the other members of the society who have more opportunities due to their color. This paragraph hence suggests that Hughes depicts the American society where Blacks strive to reconcile two ideals; as a sad group struggling to overcome their white supremacy while accepting their deprived status all the same.

Discuss Langston Hughes presentation of Modernism and politics in his Works?

Most of the literary works done by Hughes represent the Modernist Era marked by the Great Depression and abject poverty among the periphery in the society. Although the era started in the 19TH century; it only became popular after WWI (Pepo 2). Hughes uses the poem Song of Spain to linguistically and ironically compare the U.S. and Spain; accordingly, he wonders why the two countries should be at such a level of development in the 20TH century. Notably, Hughes uses the poem to condemn the international society for giving little attention to the Spanish civil by comparing his African American community and Spanish Gypsies based on the stereotypes that the two communities have to bear despite modernity (Echevarriá 92). On the contrary, the poem condemns the 20th century wars and revolutions as the society watch. In addition, he advises and warns the working class not to engage in war using leftist/communist ideas, which believe in the power to the employees to enable them to change their status and others’ too.

Works Cited

Echevarriá, Luis Girón. ”Langston Hughes’s Spanish Civil War verse’.“ Anaurio de Estudios Filológicos 28 (2005).

Grant, Carl A., and Shelby J. Grant. The Moment: Barack Obama, Jeremiah Wright, and the Firestorm at Trinity United Church of Christ. Rowman & Littlefield, 2013.

http://postnito.cz/the-role-of-harlem-in-the-development-of-african-american-urban-culture-cultural-capital-versus-ghetto/. Accessed 1 August 2017.

Karova, Julie. ”The Role of Harlem in the Development of African American Urban Culture: Cultural Capital versus Ghetto.“ (n.d).

Leach, Laurie F. Langston Hughes: A Biography. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004.

Marcoux, Jean-Philippe. ”In the Circle: Jazz Griots and the Mapping of African American Cultural Memory in Poetry.“ (2010).

Pape, Lily Florence. ”Modernism in Spain and the United States: Federico Garcia Lorca and Langston Hughes In New York.“ (2009).

Scott Barry. Harlem Voices American Negro Playwright Theatre. (2003). http://www.tpac.org/education/PDF/guidebooks/GBharlemvoices.pdf. Accessed 1 August 2017.

Scott, Jonathan. Socialist joy in the writing of Langston Hughes. University of Missouri Press, 2006.

Walkowitz, Rebecca L. ”Shakespeare in Harlem: The Norton Anthology,“ Propaganda,” Langston Hughes.“ Modern Language Quarterly 60.4 (1999): 495.