Langston Hughes Essays (1014 words) - African-American Poetry

Langston Hughes Langston Hughes is often considered a voice of the African-American people and a prime example of the magnificence of the Harlem Renaissance. His writing does embody these titles, but the concept of Langston Hughes that portrays a black man's rise to poetic greatness from the depths of poverty and repression are largely exaggerated. America frequently confuses the ideas of segregation, suppression, and struggle associated with African-American history and imposes these ideas onto the stories of many black historical figures and artists. While many of them have struggled with these confines set upon them by American society, Langston Hughes did not fulfill this historical stereotype due to his personal wealth, education, and recognized success (Early 1). James Mercer Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri on February 1, 1902. His father, James Nathaniel Hughes was a lawyer and businessman and his mother, Carrie Mercer (Langston) Hughes was a schoolteacher. The dual income from his parents appropriated him with funds that he used for his education and to begin his poetry career (Langston Hughes 1). This was an advantage unknown to many black Americans at this time. Hughes spoke of the poverty of the black people and struggles that many went through in their lives just to make enough money for their families to survive. Langston Hughes never greatly encountered this first-hand. In "Let America Be America Again", he states "I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart". Hughes was never as poor as the downtrodden he spoke of and was never "fooled and pushed apart" (Presley 1). He also was fortunate enough to obtain a benefactor, which still to this day is considered a rare blessing to aspiring writers. In 1929, he met Charlotte van der Veer Quick Mason, a wealthy widow and for the next four years, was financially supported by this generous woman (Langston Hughes 2). Again in "Let America Be America Again", Hughes pleads "I am the man who never got ahead, The poorest worker bartered through the years." In comparison to the many African-Americans at the time who were, indeed, struggling with financial burdens, Langston Hughes knew nothing of this uncertainty he spoke of due to his benefactor. The images of poverty that Hughes evokes through his poetry, contribute to the American notion of impoverished black Americans since the days of slavery, however, Hughes' life was very different from the notion he described (Early 3). At this time in history, many Americans were illiterate, especially minorities. Langston Hughes was fortunate to be able to read, and blessed with his talent to write. Due to financial stability, Hughes was able to attend Columbia University and Lincoln University. This level of study was seldom attained by African-Americans. Even though Langston Hughes was highly educated for an African-American of the time, he still used "black slang" and southern dialects in many of his poems. In "Po' Boy Blues", he not only relays the thoughts of black oppression through the factual words of the poem, but through the dialect used. "Weary, weary, Weary early in de morn. Weary, weary, Early, early in de morn. I's so weary I wish I'd never been born." Reading this evokes images of slavery and the meager existence of poor blacks of the South, but Hughes was not one of these. His own poetry tells the story of the repressed black Americans, yet this also furthers the preconceived images in the readers mind that the writer is, himself, a part of this life style, which he is not. Many are born with the talent to write, but few obtain recognition, especially within their own lifetimes. Langston Hughes' success was even more rare as he was black. He was first recognized as a talented writer as early as 1915, in grammar school as was published in his high school newspaper. In 1925, he was discovered by Carl Van Vechten, and The Weary Blues was published three weeks later. "I got the Weary Blues And I can't be satisfied Got the Weary Blues And can't be satisfied- I ain't happy no mo' And I wish that I had died." -The Weary Blues Even though Hughes continued to express the plight of the underprivileged African-Americans, he became more famous and recognized as a poet. The Harlem Renaissance flourished at this time and with it, Hughes' poetry. The Weary Blues' rhythmic and lyric-like style was greatly influenced by jazz music of the time. This connection between music and poetry paved the way for future styles of modern poetry, specifically the beat poets of the 1950's such as Allen Ginsberg