Langston Hughes: a Documentary Volume
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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 xui Contents DLB 315 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 xiv DLB315 Contents 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 xv Contents DLB 315 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 xvi DLB 315 Contents 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.