Home
Archive
Newsletters
Video
Blogs
Discuss
About
Search
Donate
Advertise

A Poet in the Sun

By Akilah Monifa, AlterNet. Posted May 6, 2002.


One hundred years after his birth and 35 years after his death, Langston Hughes, the 'Poet Laureate of the Negro Race,' remains a preeminent literary figure.

Share and save this post:

      

      

Share on Facebook       

AlterNet Social Networks:
follow us on twitter
find us on Facebook

In Special Coverage

Belief:
Atheism and Diversity: Is It Wrong For Atheists To Convert Believers?
Greta Christina

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace:
Don't Fear the Deficit Bogeyman
John Miller

DrugReporter:
The War on Weed: Marijuana Is Basically Harmless -- The Monumentally Stupid Drug War Is Not
Jim Hightower

Environment:
White House Garden Won't Make Up for Obama's Nomination of Pesticide Lobbyist for US Chief Agriculture Negotiator
Jill Richardson

Food:
Don't Be Scared of Food: Are We Being Needlessly Hysterical About Food Safety?
David E. Gumpert

Health and Wellness:
47,000 Women Could Die As a Result of the New Mammogram Guidelines
George Lakoff

Immigration:
Republican Playbook on Immigration Debate Long on Emotions, Short on Facts
Mary Giovagnoli

Media and Technology:
The Memory Scrub About Why Ft. Hood Happened Is Almost Complete ... If It Weren't for Archives
Mark Ames

Movie Mix:
Disney Apocalypse: Why 2012 Sucks
Alexander Zaitchik

Politics:
White House's Ties to Health Care Industry Deeper Than Visitor Records Show
Daniela Perdomo

Reproductive Justice and Gender:
Why Can't We Look Away From Sarah Palin?
Vanessa Richmond

Rights and Liberties:
Whatever Happened to the CIA Black Sites?
David Corn

Sex and Relationships:
Hot Mormon Muffins and Models for Jesus: What's With All the Sexy Christians?
Liz Langley

Take Action:
G-20 Meetings: Nothing Much Happened in the Suites, and There Was Too Much Punch in the Streets
Laura Flanders

Water:
Poseidon's Financial Shell Game: Why Is a Private Desalination Plant Asking for Public Money?
Peter Gleick

World:
Is Obama Following in the Footsteps of Bill Clinton?
Jeff Cohen

More stories by Akilah Monifa

Advertisement
Upcoming AlterNet stories on Digg

This year marks the centennial of the birth of James Langston Hughes, who was known as the "Poet Laureate of the Negro Race." Many people who are familiar with Lorraine Hansbury's play, "A Raisin in the Sun," may not know that the title and the opening poem are derived from Hughes' poem, "Dream Deferred."

What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up / Like a raisin in the sun? / Or fester like a sore -- And then run?/ Does it stink like rotten meat? / Or crust and sugar over -- Like a syrupy sweet?/ Maybe it just sags / Like a heavy load / Or does it explode?

Hughes was one of the earliest African-Americans to earn his living exclusively as a full-time writer. He wrote poetry, novels, short stories, articles, plays, musicals, operas, autobiographies, radio and television transcripts, essays and columns. He also edited anthologies. Alice Walker's first published short story, "To Hell With Dying," appeared in "Best Short Stories by Negro Writers," which Hughes edited.

He worked with Carter G. Woodson, founder of Negro History Week, later Black History Month, and founded the Harlem Suitcase Theater. All told, he had 50 books and 800 poems published during his 65 years, according to the Library of Congress bibliography.

His "Simple" series of books started as articles about Jesse B. Simple, a Harlem everyman who needed to be encouraged to support the racially segregated armed forces during World War II. Hughes and others in the black press wrote about the "Double V," the need for a victory against fascism overseas and against racism at home.

Hughes remained unswervingly faithful to his craft and his people with one notable exception: when he was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1953. Hughes chose to preserve his career and livelihood rather than risk blacklisting and certain economic ruin. He disappointed many by disavowing his admiration for socialism and communism and for abandoning Paul Robeson, W.E.B. DuBois and others by testifying that his past pro-communist works did not represent his current thinking at the time.

The U.S. Postal Service honored Hughes this year with a self-adhesive stamp in honor of his centennial and the 25th anniversary of the Black Heritage Series of stamps. One hundred years after his birth and 35 years after his death, Hughes remains a preeminent literary figure. His writings are timeless, and few, regardless of race or gender, can fill his literary shoes.

Akilah Monifa is a regular contributor to AlterNet on issues of race and social justice.

Digg!    Share on facebook   submit to reddit    Bookmark on Delicious   Stumble This  

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from AlterNet! Sign up now »


Republican Playbook on Immigration Debate Long on Emotions, Short on Facts
Immigration: Senate Republicans have “thoughtfully’ provided immigration advocates with their strategy for opposing immigration reform in 2010.
By Mary Giovagnoli, Immigration Impact. November 27, 2009.
Lou Dobbs, Eyeing Public Office, Endorses Policy He's Long Spun as "Amnesty for Illegals"
Politics: His fans must be thinking, 'Et Tu, Lou?'
By Joshua Holland, AlterNet. November 26, 2009.
Whatever Happened to the CIA Black Sites?
Rights and Liberties: The CIA ordered its secret prisons closed, but lawyers for terrorism suspects want them preserved as possible evidence -- and the CIA won't say what's going on.
By David Corn, Mother Jones. November 26, 2009.
Advertisement
Advertisement

 

  • AlterNetYour turn

Support AlterNet
Do you value the information you're getting from AlterNet? Please show your support with a tax-deductible donation.


Feedback
Tell us how we're doing.

Advertisement
Advertisement