PEOPLE IN AMERICA -March 17, 2002: Langston Hughes, Part Two
By Cynthia Kirk
VOICE ONE:
I’m Mary Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today we finish telling
about the life of Langston Hughes, known as the poet voice of African Americans. He was one of the most
important writers of the Harlem Renaissance.
((THEME)
)
VOICE ONE:
Langston Hughes was born in nineteen-oh -two. His parents separated when he was little. Langston grew up with
his grandmother who told him stories about their family ’s fight against racial injustice. He developed a love of
reading books as a way to deal with loneliness and a feeling of rejection from his parents. His love for reading
grew into a desire to write.
As a young man, Langston traveled to Europe and Africa working on ships. He wrote poems
and short stories during his travels. A few of the writings he sent home were published, which
helped establish him as a professional writer.
VOICE TWO:
By nineteen-twenty-five, Langston Hughes had returned to the United States and was living
in Harlem in New York City. This was during the Harlem Renaissance, a period of great
artistic creativity among blacks who lived there.
Hughes discovered a new way of writing poetry, using the rhythms of jazz and blues to support his words. His
first collection of poetry, called the “Weary Blues,
”
was published in nineteen-twenty-six. Hughes wrote
poetry about the common experiences of black people. People said they could see themselves in the words of his
poetry.
VOICE ONE:
Hughes had worked many different jobs, but wished to make a living as a writer. Wealthy white supporters of the
Harlem Renaissance helped Hughes until he could support himself. Critic Carl Van Vechten had helped to get the
“The Weary Blues”
published. Van Vechten was one of the first to recognize the new styles of the writers of the
Harlem Renaissance and their importance in African American literature. Another supporter of the arts, Amy
Spingarn, gave Hughes money to complete his education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.
Missus Charlotte Mason began supporting Hughes in Nineteen Twenty-Seven. In
nineteen-thirty, he published a novel, “Not Without Laughter,
”
that made him
very famous. His relationship with Missus Mason ended about the time the book
appeared. After that, Hughes sank into a period of intense personal unhappiness.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE TWO:
In the early nineteen-thirties, Langston Hughes traveled to Cuba and Haiti. He later
traveled across the southern United States, doing poetry readings and trying to sell
his books. Hughes was likeable and gained many readers during his visit to the
South.
He also began to write many different short stories that were published in
magazines. In these, he was able to discuss ideas related to black pride, racism and
other issues of black life.
In nineteen -thirty-two, Hughes traveled to the Soviet Union. He became an active
supporter of communism. He believed communism was fairer to minorities. During
this time, his writing also became more militant. Several of his poems expressed
support for social and political protests.
Later, his writings began to examine the unfairness of life in America. He wrote
about people whose lives were affected by racism and sexual conflicts, violence in the southern United States,
Harlem street life, poverty, racism, hunger and hopelessness.
VOICE ONE:
Hughes wrote one of his most important works in nineteen-twenty-six, “The Negro Artist and the Racial
Mountain.
”
It spoke of black writers and poets who want to be considered as poets, not black poets. Hughes
thought this meant they wanted to write like white poets. He argued there was a need for race pride and artistic
independence:
CUT ONE: “THE NEGRO ARTIST AND THE RACIAL MOUNTAIN”
“We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or
shame. If white people are pleased we are glad. If they aren’t, it doesn’t matter. We know we are beautiful.
And ugly too.If colored people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, their displeasure doesn’t matter either.
We build our temples for tomorrow, as strong as we know how. And we stand on top of the mountain, free within
ourselves.
”
VOICE TWO:
As his success as a writer grew, Langston Hughes began to explore other ways to spread his message. He wrote
children’s stories and several plays. By nineteen-forty, he had opened black theater groups in Harlem, Chicago
and Los Angeles.
While writing for a black newspaper, Hughes created someone called “Jesse B. Semple.
”
The name “Jesse B.
Semple”
represented Hughes’s writing style: Just Be Simple. Semple was a common man of the people who
“tells it like it is.
”
His experiences help other people understand the world in a clearer light. Hughes spoke
through his character:
CUT TWO: HUGHES READING FROM “SIMPLE”
Here is more of “Jesse B. Semple,
”
read by Langston Hughes.
CUT THREE: HUGHES READING FROM “SIMPLE”
VOICE ONE:
Langston Hughes was known to be very supportive of young writers and poets. Some said his willingness to help
young writers was a result of his unhappy childhood. Wherever he went, from the Caribbean to Africa to Russia,
he connected with writers and gave them support. He also translated some of their writings into English and
included them in collections he produced.
Not everyone praised Hughes
’
work. Some critics said his writings were too simple and lacked depth. Some
blacks condemned his informal writing style and honest descriptions of black life. They also criticized his use of
blues and jazz in his poetry and his expressions of sympathy for working people.
However, his supporters praised his straightforward writing style. They said he demonstrated that writing does
not have to be complex to be great.
VOICE TWO:
In nineteen -fifty-one, Hughes wrote one of his most successful collections of jazz poetry called, “Montage of
a
Dream Deferred.
”
The poems are expressions of everyday life in Harlem. They take the reader through one
complete day and night in Harlem.
In some of the poems, Hughes uses a new kind of jazz played in Harlem at the time, called “Be-Bop.
”
The
poems deal with the problem of being black in America. In “Harlem,
”
the most famous poem in the collection,
he asks:
CUT FOUR: “MONTAGE OF A DREAM DEFERRED”
VOICE ONE:
There were difficult times for Langston Hughes. Conservatives in the United States were suspicious of his ties to
extremist movements, his activism, and his support of the Soviet Union for its treatment of minorities.
In nineteen -fifty-three, he was forced to appear before Senator Joseph McCarthy ’s committee on subversive
activities to explain his interest in communism. Under pressure during the nineteen-fifties, Hughes softened the
voice of his poems and rejected his militant past. He was criticized later by some black activists for not being
militant enough.
Hughes continued to write and publish throughout the nineteen-fifties and sixties. And he won several important
awards during that time. He also taught at Atlanta University and the University of Chicago.
VOICE TWO:
Hughes died of cancer in nineteen-sixty-seven in Harlem, New York. His home on One-Hundred -Twenty-
Seventh Street has been made a national landmark.
Experts say Langston Hughes helped to change the sound of American literature. They say he wrote poems the
world will always know.
((THEME)
)
VOICE ONE:
This Special English program was written and produced by Cynthia Kirk. Our studio engineer was Mick Shaw.
I’m Mary Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of
America.
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