Dictionary of Literary Biography • Volume Three Hundred Fifteen

Langston Hughes: A Documentary Volume

Edited by Christopher C. De Santis Elinois State University

A Bruccoli Clark Layman Book

THOMSON

GALE

Detroit • New York • San Francisco • San Diego • New Haven, Conn. • Waterville, Maine • London • Munich Contents

Plan of the Series xxi Introduction xxiii Acknowledgments xxvii Permissions xxix

Works by Langston Hughes 3

Chronology 9

A Poet of the People: 1902-1929 18 Living with Mary Langston-from Hughes, The Big Sea: An Autobiography New Arrangements—from The Big Sea Hughes on Central High School—from The Big Sea Facsimile: First page of Hughes's short story in the Central High School Monthly Living the Blues 25 I've Known Rivers—from The Big Sea Facsimile: A copy of "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" Facsimile: Hughes letter to James Nathaniel Hughes Jr., 19 December 1921 Facsimile: Hughes letter to R. J. M. Danley, 14 May 1922 A Letter from Africa-Hughes letter to Carrie Clark, 21 July 1923 Remembering a Paris Romance—from Anne Marie Coussey letter to Hughes, 3 June 1926 Our Wonderful Society: Washington—Hughes, Opportunity, August 1927 An Award-Winning Poem—Hughes, "The Weary Blues" AFirstBook 34 Hughes letter to Carl Van Vechten, 17 May 1925 Facsimile: Blanche Knopf letter to Hughes, 18 May 1925 Facsimile: Hughes letter to Claude McKay, 25 July 1925 Facsimile: W. E. B. Du Bois letter to Hughes, 6 August 1925 On Being Discovered—from The Big Sea Introducing Langston Hughes to the Reader-Van Vechten, preface for The Weary Blues Poet on Poet: Review of The Weary Blues-Coxxntee Cullen, Opportunity, February 1926 Euterpe Learns the Charleston: Review of The Weary £/a«-Theophilus Lewis, The Messenger, March 1926

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To Midnight Nan at Leroy's-from The Weary Blues The Jazz Band's Sob: Review of The Weary Blues—DuBose Heyward, New York Herald Tribune Books, 1 August 1926 Off with the Black-Face!: Review of The Weary Blues—James Rorty, Mew Masses, October 1926 An Argument of Art and Race '. 49 The Negro-Art Hokum-George S. Schuyler, The Nation, 16 June 1926 The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain-Hughes, The Nation, 23 June 1926 An Absurd Contention-Hughes, letter to the editor, The Nation, 18 August 1926 Facsimile: Hughes letter to Wallace Thurman, circa 1926 Reviews of Fine Clothes to the Jew 56 Songs of the Lowly—Dewey R.Jones, Chicago Defender, 5 February 1927 The Growth of a Poet-Walter F. White, New York World, 6 February 1927 Langston Hughes: The Sewer Dweller—William M. Kelley, New York Amsterdam News, 9 February 1927 A Poet for the People-Margaret Larkin, Opportunity, March 1927 On Critics 62 These Bad New Negroes: A Critique on Critics—essay by Hughes, 22 March 1927 Only the Best-Hughes letter to W. E. B. Du Bois, 11 February 1928 A Man of Letters 66 Hughes letter to Claude McKay, 5 March 1928 Hughes letter to McKay,-13 September 1928 Hughes letter to Wallace Thurman, circa 1929 Hughes letter to Thurman, 29July 1929 Facsimile: Page from Hughes's journal, 15 July 1929

Turning to the World: 1930 - 1939 73 Laughin'Just to Keep from Cryin' 75 Patron and Friend—from The Big Sea Facsimile: Page from the second draft of Not Without Laughter "Next Thing to Camelot": Introduction to Not WithoutLaughter-Arna. Bontemps, 1969 Guitar—from Hughes, Not Without Laughter The Break with Mason—from The Big Sea A Little Colored Boy Grows Up: Review of Not Without Laughter—Mary Ross, New York Herald Tribune Books, 27 July 1930 Facsimile: Hughes letter to James Weldon Johnson, 12 July 1930 "An Enviable First Performance": Review of Not Without Laughter—Wallace Thurman, New York Evening Post, 28 July 1930 Facsimile: Knopf publicity department letter to Hughes, 28 July 1930 "The Simplicity of Great Art": Review of Not Without Laughter-Sterling A. Brown, Opportunity, September 1930 Greetings to Soviet Workers—Hughes, New Masses, December 1930

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The Story of Mule Bone 97 A Tragedy of Negro Life—Henry Louis Gates Jr., in Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life Facsimile: Title page for the typescript of Mule Bone "Flinging a Final Mule Bone"-Hughes letter to Carl Van Vechten, 4 February 1931 Facsimile: First page of the Mule Bone typescript Haiti and the South ._. 107 Hughes letter to Amy Spingarn, 14 May 1931 People without Shoes—Hughes, New Masses, October 1931 Facsimile: Hughes letter to James Nathaniel Hughes Jr., 30 June 1931 Reading at Coulter Academy-from Hughes, / Wonder as I Wander: An Autobiographical Journey Financing a Reading Tour—Hughes letter to James Weldon Johnson, 14 August 1931 Hughes on Negro Art-Hughes, "Negro Art and-Its Audience" The New Sign, 26 September 1931, and "Negro Art and-Publicity Value," The New Sign, 3 October 1931 Sterling A. Brown letter to Hughes, 7 December 1931 Hughes letter to Mary McLeod Bethune, 15 February 1932 Facsimile: Hughes tribute to Vachel Lindsay, 18 January 1932 Brown America in Jail: Kilby—Hughes, Opportunity, June 1932 Facsimile: Hughes cable to Wallace Thurman, 12 March 1932 Writing for Children .., V' v 123 Sandburg of Negro Verse: Review of The Dream Keeper-H.ora.ce Gregory, New York Evening Post, 2 August 1932 By the Sea—from Hughes and Arna Bontemps, Popo andFifina, 1932 Books and the Negro Child—Hughes, Children's Library Yearbook, 1932 The Soviet Union and Asia 129 Hughes letter to Amy Spingarn, 20 March 1933 Facsimile: Press release, 31 August 1932 Moscow and Me—Hughes, International Literature, July 1933 Swords over Asia—Hughes, Fight against War and Fascism, June 1934 Facsimile: Hughes speech in Japan, 30 June 1933 Facsimile: Hughes letter to Jean Toomer, 17 November 1933, and Toomer's reply A First Collection of Stories 142 Red-Headed Baby-from Hughes, The Ways of White Folks Langston Hughes Produces a Remarkably Fine Book of Short Stories: Review of The Ways of White Folks— Herschel Brickell, New York Post, 28 June 1934 Change the World!: Review of The Ways of White Folks-Edwin Rolfe, Daily Worker, 10 July 1934 Jazz-Consciousness: Review of The Ways of White Folks-Vernon Loggins, The Saturday Review of Literature, 14 July 1934 ''

The Uses of Words .v 149 To Negro Writers—essay by Hughes, American Writers' Congress, April 1935

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An Appeal for Jacques Roumain-Hughes, letter to the editor, The New Republic, 12 December 1934 Settling Matters in Mexico-Hughes letter to Carrie Clark, 14 December 1934 Soul Gone Home: A One-Act Play-Hughes, One-Act Play, July 1937 Facsimile: Page from draft of speech for the Second International Writers Congress, 16 July 1937 Hughes Bombed in Spain-Hughes, Baltimore Afro-American, 23 October 1937 Facsimile: Pages with Hughes annotations from One Act Play, October 1938 Writers, Words and the World-speech by Hughes, 25 July 1938 Facsimile: Hughes letter to Dorothy Peterson, 25 July 1939

Adventures as a Social Writer: 1940 - 1949 162 Facsimile: Hughes's application to the Julius Rosenwald Fund, 5 January 1941 Ellison and Wright on The Big Sea 164 Stormy Weather-Ralph Ellison, The New Masses, 24 September 1940 Facsimile: Hughes letter to Richard Wright, 29 February 1940 Forerunner and Ambassador—Wright, The New Republic, 28 October 1940 Wright Wins the Spingarn Medal-Hughes letter to Wright, 15 February 1941 The "Goodbye Christ" Controversy .170 Concerning "Goodbye, Christ"—Hughes statement, 1 January 1941 Hughes letter to Malcolm Cowley, 2 January 1941 The Third Collection of Poems 174 To Croon, Shout, Recite or Sing: Review of Shakespeare in Harlem-Ruth Lechlitner, New York Herald Tribune Books, 3 May 1942 "Unworthy of the Author": Review of Shakespeare in Harlem-Owen Dodson, Phylon, Third Quarter ,1942 Writing for the Chicago Defender 176 Negro Writers and the War-Hughes draft of article for the Chicago Defender, 24 August 1942 Facsimile: Slogans for war bonds, circa 1942 Why and Wherefore-Hughes, Chicago Defender, 21 November 1942 Conversation at Midnight—Hughes, Chicago Defender, 13 February 1943 On America's Democracy 182 Democracy, Negroes, and Writers-Hughes statement, 13 May 1941 Facsimile: First page from Hughes's song "Freedom Road," 1942 My America—Hughes, in What the Negro Wants, 1944 Down Under in Harlem-Hughes, The New Republic, 27 March 1944 From JOT Crow's Last Stand to One-Way Ticket 192 "Fearlessly Presenting His Case": Review of Jim Crow's Last Stand-Carter G. Woodson, Journal of Negro History, October 1943 A Proposal for an Anthology-Hughes letter to Countee Cullen, 23 July 1943 i Facsimile: Drafts of poem "Trumpet Player: 52nd Street," June 1945 Hughes letter to Arna Bontemps, 2 May 1946 Facsimile: Pearl S. Buck cable to Hughes, 29 May 1946

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The Ceaseless Rings of Walt Whitman-Hughes, preface, / Hear the People Singing: Selected Poems of Walt Whitman, 1946 Langston Hughes Fulfills Promise of Great Destiny in New Book: Review of Fields of Wonder— Russell and Rowenajelliffe, Cleveland News Week-End Review, 29 March 1947 My Adventures as a Social Poet-Hughes, Phylon, Third Quarter 1947 Facsimile: "Freedom Train," in the October 1947 issue of Our World Facsimile: Draft of part of Montage of a Dream Deferred, 7 August 1948 Old Forms, Old Rhythms, Old Words: Review of One-Way Ticket—J. Saunders Redding, The Saturday Review of Literature, 22 January 1949 'One Way Ticket,' New Book of Poems by Langston Hughes—Abner W. Berry, Daily Worker, 13 February 1949 Facsimile: Knopf announcement of publication of One-Way Ticket

A Citizen of Harlem: 1950 - 1959 213 The McCarthy Hearings and Right-Wing Critics 215 Testimony before the Executive Session, 24 March 1953—record of the Eighty-Third Congress, First Session, 1953 Am I Excused Now?-record of the Eighty-Third Congress, First Session, 26 March 1953 Langston Hughes: Malevolent Force—Elizabeth Staples, American Mercury, January 1959 Critic, Translator, and Teacher 222 Some Practical Observations: A Colloquy—Hughes interview, Phylon, Winter 1950 Facsimile: Edward H. Doddjr. letter to Hughes, 25 June 1952 The Famous Negro Books-Hughes letter to Dodd, 28 June 1952 \ Introduction to Uncle Tom's Cabin—Hughes, 1952 Hughes letter to Arna Bontemps, 18 February 1953 Facsimile: Page from a draft of Hughes's Famous American Negroes Facsimile: Carl Murphy letter to Hughes, 18 September 1953 From Harlem to Paris-Hughes, New York Times Book Review, 26 February 1956 Introduction to Selected Poems of Gabriela Mistral, 1957 "Even the Simplicity Defeats Him"—Edwin Honig, "Poet of Womanhood," The Saturday Review of Literature, 22 March 1958 Introduction to Pudd'nhead PFzZson-Hughes, 1959 The Simple Story 241 Not So Simple: Review of Simple Speaks His Mind-AAoyd L. Brown, Masses and Mainstream, June 1950 "A Brilliant and Shockingly Accurate Expose": Review of Simple Speaks His Mind-John W. Parker, Journal of Negro History, January 1951 That Not So Simple Sage, Mr. Simple: Review of Simple Takes a Wife—Arna. Bontemps, New York Herald Tribune Book Review, 14 June 1953 Not So Simple: Review of Simple Takes a Wife-Ahner Berry, Masses and Mainstream, September 1953 Simple is Back—Martha MacGregor, New York Post, 15 September 1957 Scenes from Simply Heavenly-from Langston Hughes and David Martin, Simply Heavenly, 1958

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Poetry and Prose 254 "A Sensitive and Fascinating Work": Review of Montage of a Dream Deferred-Arthur P. Davis, Journal of Negro History, April 1951 Poetry of Harlem in Transition: Review of Montage of a Dream Deferred—John W. Parker, Phylon, Second Quarter, 1951 Professor-from Hughes, Laughing to Keep from Crying, 1952 Books and Things: Review of Laughing to Keep from Crying-Lewis Gannett, New York Herald Tribune, 26 March 1952 Facsimile: Draft of a poem Hughes published in Beloit Poetry Journal Chapbook Black & Bubbling: Review of Laughing to Keep from Crying-Arna Bontemps, The Saturday Review of Literature, 5 April 1952 N-=, , , ' v "The Why and Wherefore": Review of The Sweet Flypaper of Life—Almena Lomax, Los Angeles Tribune, ~"~'"' 11 November 1955 Hughes' / Wonder as I Wander: Reveries of an Itinerant Poet-Jonathan F. Beecher, Harvard Crimson, 13 December 1956 "A Personality Without Pretense": Review of / Wonder As I Wander-J. Saunders Redding, Baltimore Afro-American, 12January 1957 Odyssey of a Literary Man: Review of / Wonder As I Wander-Nick Aaron Ford, Phylon, First Quarter, 1957 Facsimile: Telegram exchange between bandleader Duke Ellington and Hughes, September 1958 Another Revealing Facet of the Harlem Scene: Review of Tambourines to Glory-John W. Parker, Phylon, Spring 1959 Langston Hughes' Tambourines to Glory—LeRoi Jones, Jazz Review, June 1959 Facsimile: First page of Hughes's reader's report for Simon and Schuster Sermons and Blues: Review of Selected Poems of Langston Hughes—James Baldwin, The New York Times Book Review, 29 March 1959 Facsimile: Hughes postcard to Baldwin, 29 March 1959 "Enduring Poems": Review of Selected Poems of Langston Hughes-John Henrik Clarke, Chicago Defender, 4 July 1959 Manhattan Arts Theatre Citation to Langston Hughes, 3 May 1959 Searching for a Star-Hughes letter to Pearl Bailey, 6 December 1959

The Last Years: 1960 - 22 May 1967 279 A-Climbin' On 280 Remarks in Acceptance of 45th Spingarn Medal-Hughes, 26 June 1960 No Crystal Stair-Hughes, "Mother to Son," The Crisis, December 1922 Facsimile: Draft for Hughes's short piece on Miles Davis Jazz Is a Marching Jubilee: Review of Ask Your Mama: Twelve Moods for Jazz-Rudi Blesh, New York Herald Tribune Books, 26 November 1961 "A Book of Social Protest": Review of Ask Your Mama: Twelve Moods for Jazz-John Henrik Clarke, Freedomways, Winter 1962 , Foreword: Who Is Simple?—Hughes, The Best of Simple, 1961 "A Later Day Aesop": Review of The Best of Simple-Clarke, Freedomways, Winter 1962 x-- Foreword to Poems from Black Africa—Hughes, 1963

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Mr. Hughes' Shadings: Review of Something in Common and Other Stories-W'Aliam Kirtz, Quincy (Mass.) Patriot- Ledger, 17 April 1963 Reachin' Landings 293 Introduction to Five Plays by Langston Hughes-Webster Smalley, 1963 A Writer's Responsibility-Hughes, "The Task of the Negro Writer as Artist," Negro Digest, April 1965 Facsimile: First page of an essay Hughes wrote on sexual stereotypes, 4 May 1963 "It'll Be Me": The Voice of Langston Hughes: Review of Five Plays by Langston Hughes-Doris E. Abramson, Massachusetts Review, Autumn 1963 Continued Controversy-"4 Churches Hit Poet's WSU Visit," The Wichita Eagle, 26 April 1965 Still Climbin' ., . . „ .,;. 309 The Twenties: Harlem and Its Negritude—Hughes, African Forum, 1966 "Too Serious to Laugh . . . Too Philosophical to Cry": Review of Simple's Uncle Sam—W. Edward Farrison, College Language Association Journal, March 1966 Taos in Harlem: An Interview with Langston Hughes-Richard Rive, Contrast, 1967 Introduction to The Best Short Stories by Negro Writers: An Anthology from 1899 to the Present-Hughes, 1967 Facsimile: Instructions Hughes prepared for his memorial service Langston Hughes Dies—The Poet of Harlem—Joseph Mancini, New York Post, 23 May 1967

"Bright Before Us": The Legacy of Langston Hughes 324 Views from the Sixties ...... 325 The Legacy of Langston Hughes—Ted Poston, New York Post Magazine, 27 May 1967 The Man Who Created 'Simple'-Keneth Kinnamon, The Nation, 4 December 1967 "A Vital Contribution": Review of The Panther and the Lash—W. Edward Farrison, College Language Association Journal, March 1968 Langston Hughes' Last Volume of Verse: Review of The Panther and the Lash—Theodore R. Hudson, College Language Association Journal, June 1968 Langston Hughes: He Spoke of Rivers—Arna Bontemps, Freedomways, Spring 1968 Langston Hughes-An Inspirer of Young Writers-Lindsay Patterson, Freedomways, Spring 1968 Looking Back 335 A Chat with Langston Hughes: Spring, 1960-Richard K. Barksdale, Langston Hughes Review, Fall 1983 Langston/Blues Griot-Jerry W. Ward Jr., Langston Hughes Review, Fall 1993 Amiri Baraka on Langston Hughes—17 October 1985 interview, Langston Hughes Review, Winter 1997 James Baldwin on Langston Hughes—14 February 1986 interview, Langston Hughes Review, Winter 1997 Langston Hughes and Haiti-Maurice A. Lubin, Langston Hughes Review, Spring 1987 Hughes's Literary Reputation in France—Michel Fabre, Langston Hughes Review, Spring 1987 Gathering Up Every Word of the Prolific Langston Hughes-Jo Thomas, The New York Times, 31 July 2001

For Further Reading and Reference 367 Index 371

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