LITR 5731: Seminar in American Multicultural Literature

Poetry Presentation, fall 2007

Thursday, 20 September: Langston Hughes, "Harlem (A Dream Deferred)"; "Dream Variations"

Poetry reader / discussion leader: Cindy Goodson

QUITE PHOTOGENIC HUH?

A little Background on Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967)

·        Born in Joplin, Missouri – James Langston Hughes

·        Mother was a school teacher, father a storekeeper

·        Parents separated – he and mom moved around a lot

·        Great-great-grandson of Charles Henry Langston, brother of John Mercer Langston, who was the first Black American to be elected to public office, in 1855.

·        Began writing poetry in eighth grade, was elected class poet

·        Attended Columbia University for a year – dropped out with a B+ average

·        His father wanted him to be an engineer and wouldn’t pay for college otherwise

·        Eventually graduated from Lincoln University

·        In his later years, deemed the “Poet Laureate of the Negro Race” a title he encouraged.

·        Much of what we know about the Harlem Renaissance and its key players we know from Langston Hughes

·        His works were committed to American Negroes more so than Africans

African-American poet, novelist, and playwright, who became one of the foremost interpreters of racial relationships in the United States. Influenced by the Bible, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Walt Whitman, Hughes depicted realistically the ordinary lives of black people. His poetry seeks to imitate the sound of jazz and blues music, rather than stick with more traditional poetic meter.

My interpretations are…

“Harlem” A Dream Deferred -

Hughes suggests that resentment when held too long, depending on the person’s personality and societal conditions, either results in depression or uncontrolled rage that could manifest itself in outrage or violence.

“Dream Variations”

The poem imitates the overall structure of blues music – he captures the attention of the readers primarily blacks because it was familiar to them where they would otherwise have no point of reference in standard literary modes.  Using the blues style helped him easily convey the mixed emotions of hope and fear that the poem mergers. 

Let’s read the poems:

Objective 3a.

Of course we can see that we’re all over ‘The Dream’ Objective here right? 

How can we compare and contrast the dominant “American Dream” narrative with the style used by the rhythmic poems written by Hughes? 

An even better question might be is how do we avoid the kind of build up of anger we see in the first poem that ultimately is destructive to both the individual and the society?