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Langston Hughes
Classic Poetry Series Langston Hughes - poems - Publication Date: 2012 Publisher: PoemHunter.Com - The World's Poetry Archive Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967) an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that "Harlem was in vogue." Biography Ancestry and Childhood Both of Hughes' paternal and maternal great-grandmothers were African-American, his maternal great-grandfather was white and of Scottish descent. A paternal great-grandfather was of European Jewish descent. Hughes's maternal grandmother Mary Patterson was of African-American, French, English and Native American descent. One of the first women to attend Oberlin College, she first married Lewis Sheridan Leary, also of mixed race. Lewis Sheridan Leary subsequently joined John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry in 1859 and died from his wounds. In 1869 the widow Mary Patterson Leary married again, into the elite, politically active Langston family. Her second husband was Charles Henry Langston, of African American, Native American, and Euro-American ancestry. He and his younger brother John Mercer Langston worked for the abolitionist cause and helped lead the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society in 1858. Charles Langston later moved to Kansas, where he was active as an educator and activist for voting and rights for African Americans. Charles and Mary's daughter Caroline was the mother of Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri, the second child of school teacher Carrie (Caroline) Mercer Langston and James Nathaniel Hughes (1871–1934). -
African American Creative Arts Dance, Literature, Music, Theater, and Visual Art from the Great Depression to Post-Civil Rights Movement of the 1960S
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 6, No. 2; February 2016 African American Creative Arts Dance, Literature, Music, Theater, and Visual Art From the Great Depression to Post-Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s Dr. Iola Thompson, Ed. D Medgar Evers College, CUNY 1650 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11225 USA Abstract The African American creative arts of dance, music, literature, theater and visual art continued to evolve during the country’s Great Depression due to the Stock Market crash in 1929. Creative expression was based, in part, on the economic, political and social status of African Americans at the time. World War II had an indelible impact on African Americans when they saw that race greatly affected their treatment in the military while answering the patriotic call like white Americans. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s had the greatest influence on African American creative expression as they fought for racial equality and civil rights. Artistic aesthetics was based on the ideologies and experiences stemming from that period of political and social unrest. Keywords: African American, creative arts, Great Depression, WW II, Civil Rights Movement, 1960s Introduction African American creative arts went through several periods of transition since arriving on the American shores with enslaved Africans. After emancipation, African characteristics and elements began to change as the lifestyle of African Americans changed. The cultural, social, economic, and political vicissitudes caused the creative flow and productivity to change as well. The artistic community drew upon their experiences as dictated by various time periods, which also created their ideologies. During the Harlem Renaissance, African Americans experienced an explosive period of artistic creativity, where the previous article left off. -
Music and the Construction of Historical Narrative in 20Th and 21St Century African-American Literature
1 Orientations in Time: Music and the Construction of Historical Narrative in 20th and 21st Century African-American Literature Leisl Sackschewsky A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2016 Reading Committee: Sonnet Retman, Chair Habiba Ibrahim Alys Weinbaum Program Authorized to Offer Degree: English 2 © Copyright 2016 Leisl Sackschewsky 3 University of Washington Abstract Orientations in Time: Music and the Construction of Historical Narrative in 20th and 21st Century African-American Literature Chair of Supervisory Committee: Associate Professor Sonnet Retman American Ethnic Studies This dissertation argues that the intersections between African-American literature and music have been influential in both the development of hip-hop aesthetics and, specifically, their communication of historical narrative. Challenging hip-hop historiographers that narrate the movement as the materialization of a “phantom aesthetic”, or a sociological, cultural, technological, and musical innovation of the last forty years, this dissertation asserts that hip-hop artists deploy distinctly literary techniques in their attempts to animate, write, rewrite, rupture, or reclaim the past for the present. Through an analysis of 20th and 21st century African-American literary engagements with black music, musical figures, scenes of musical performance, and what I call ‘musical-oral’, I hope to demonstrate how prose representations of music disrupt the linear narratives of -
Gospel Music and the Sonic Fictions of Black Womanhood in Twentieth-Century African American Literature
“UP ABOVE MY HEAD”: GOSPEL MUSIC AND THE SONIC FICTIONS OF BLACK WOMANHOOD IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE Kimberly Gibbs Burnett A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the degree requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English and Comparative Literature in the Graduate School. Chapel Hill 2020 Approved by: Danielle Christmas Florence Dore GerShun Avilez Glenn Hinson Candace Epps-Robertson ©2020 Kimberly Gibbs Burnett ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Kimberly Burnett: “Up Above My Head”: Gospel Music and the Sonic Fictions of Black Womanhood in TWentieth-Century African American Literature (Under the direction of Dr. Danielle Christmas) DraWing from DuBois’s Souls of Black Folk (1903), which highlighted the Negro spirituals as a means of documenting the existence of a soul for an African American community culturally reduced to their bodily functions, gospel music figures as a reminder of the narrative of black women’s struggle for humanity and of the literary markers of a black feminist ontology. As the attention to gospel music in texts about black women demonstrates, the material conditions of poverty and oppression did not exclude the existence of their spiritual value—of their claim to humanity that was not based on conduct or social decorum. At root, this project seeks to further the scholarship in sound and black feminist studies— applying concepts, such as saturation, break, and technology to the interpretation of black womanhood in the vernacular and cultural recordings of gospel in literature. Further, this dissertation seeks to offer neW historiography of black female development in tWentieth century literature—one which is shaped by a sounding culture that took place in choir stands, on radios in cramped kitchens, and on stages all across the nation. -
The Weary Blues” and “Jazztet Muted” by Langston Hughes
Department of English Putting Jazz on the Page: “The Weary Blues” and “Jazztet Muted” by Langston Hughes Ralph Hertzberg McKnight Bachelor’s degree Project Literature Fall, 2018 Supervisor: Magnus Ullén Abstract The goal of this essay is to look at the poems “The Weary Blues” and “JAZZTET MUTED” (hereafter to be referred to as “JAZZTET”) by Langston Hughes and examine their relationships to both the blues and jazz structurally, lyrically, and thematically. I examine the relationship of blues and jazz to the African-American community of Harlem, New York in the 1920’s and the 1950’s when the poems were respectively published. Integral to any understanding of what Hughes sought to accomplish by associating his poetry so closely with these music styles are the contexts, socially and politically, in which they are produced, particularly with respect to the African-American experience. I will examine Hughes’ understanding of not only the sound of the two styles of music but of what the music represents in the context of African-American history and how he combines these to effectively communicate blues and jazz to the page. Keywords: Langston Hughes; “The Weary Blues”; “JAZZTET MUTED”; the blues; jazz; Harlem; be-bop; the “Jazz-Age”; African-American history; “jazz poetry” Hertzberg McKnight 1 The poetry of Langston Hughes is inextricably linked to the new music he heard pouring out of the apartment windows and nightclub doorways of 1920s, and later, 1940s Harlem. Hughes was quick to identify the significance of this truly original art form and used it as a means to express the emotions and lived realities of the mostly African-American residents he saw on Harlem streets. -
Representations of Women and Aspects of Their Agency
REPRESENTATIONS OF WOMEN AND ASPECTS OF THEIR AGENCY IN MALE AUTHORED PROLETARIAN EXPERIMENTAL NOVELS FROM THIRTIES AMERICA By Anoud Ziad Abdel-Qader Al-Tarawneh A Thesis Submitted to The University of Birmingham For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of English, Drama, & American and Canadian Studies College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham October 2018 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT This thesis investigates the layered representations of women, their agency, and their class awareness in four leftist experimental novels from 1930s America: Langston Hughes’ Not Without Laughter, Jack Conroy’s The Disinherited, John Dos Passos’ The Big Money, and John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. It argues that the histories these novels engage, the forms they integrate, and the societal norms they explore enable their writers to offer a complex, distinct, sense of female representation and agency. All four novels present stereotyped or sentimentalised portrayals of women from the traces of early twentieth-century popular culture, a presentation which the novels’ stories explore through nuanced, mobilised, or literally as well as figuratively politicised images of women. -
Langston Hughes
Day 3: 4-29 Social Studies Assignment: Langston Hughes Synopsis : Langston Hughes born in Joplin, Missouri, in 1902. He was one of the most important writers and thinkers of the Harlem Renaissance. This was an artistic movement in 1920s New York that celebrated African-American life and culture. Through his writing, Hughes promoted equality and condemned* racism. He became a celebrated voice of black culture, spirituality and humor. Early Years Hughes' childhood and youth was one of frequent change. He was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri, but his parents split up when he was very young. His father moved to Mexico, and his mother left him for long periods in search of work. Hughes' grandmother raised him in Lawrence, Kansas, until he was 12. He later lived with his mother and stepfather in Illinois and Ohio. Hughes began writing creatively in high school. He explored his experiences and feelings through poetry. The year 1921 was a pivotal one for Hughes. He traveled to Mexico to be with his father and teach English in Mexican schools. While traveling on a train, he wrote "The Negro Speaks of Rivers." African-Americans at the time were often referred to as Negroes. The poem was printed in, The Crisis," a magazine published by a leading civil rights group. "I've known rivers": it begins. "I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins." That same year, Hughes attended Columbia University in New York. He fell in love with the nearby neighborhood of Harlem. -
Of the Blues Aesthetic
Skansgaard 1 The “Aesthetic” of the Blues Aesthetic Michael Ryan Skansgaard Homerton College September 2018 This thesis is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Skansgaard 2 Declaration: This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It is not substantially the same as any that I have submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for a degree or diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. I further state that no substantial part of my dissertation has already been submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for any such degree, diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. At 79,829 words, the thesis does not exceed the regulation length, including footnotes, references and appendices but excluding the bibliography. This work follows the guidelines of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Acknowledgements: This study has benefitted from the advice of Fiona Green and Philip Coleman, whose feedback has led to a revitalised introduction and conclusion. I am also indebted to Donna Akiba Sullivan Harper, Robert Dostal, Kristen Treen, Matthew Holman, and Pulane Mpotokwane, who have provided feedback on various chapters; to Simon Jarvis, Geoff Ward, and Ewan Jones, who have served as advisers; and especially to my supervisor, Michael D. -
Langston Hughes: Voice Among Voices
Curriculum Units by Fellows of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute 1991 Volume III: Afro-American Autobiography Langston Hughes: Voice Among Voices Curriculum Unit 91.03.01 by G. Casey Cassidy I. Introduction Over the past two years, while participating in the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, I have written extensive units detailing the lives and creations of the Wright Brothers and Edward Hopper. When I set out to research these folks, I decided to read as much as possible about them from their childhood to their formative years, and then to accompany them through their great achievements. With this pattern in mind, I decided to read Langston Hughes, never realizing the monumental literary portfolio that this gentleman produced. His literary accomplishments are well represented through his poetry, his fiction, and his drama. His short stories were written utilizing a character named Jesse B. Simple, a universal, charming figure within whom we all can see a little bit of ourselves, usually in a humorous and honest capacity. His poetry often conveyed serious messages. Although his story was seldom pleasant, he told it with understanding and with hope. His novels, especially Not Without Laughter, created a warm human picture of Negro life in Black America. The family was very important to Langston Hughes, but so were the forces that surrounded the family—the racial discrimination, the violence of society, the unfairness of educational opportunities, and the right to share in the American dream of opportunity and freedom. It’s to these high ideals of opportunity and freedom that my research and efforts will be devoted this year as my curriculum unit develops. -
“Mother to Son” (1922)
Selected Poems — Langston Hughes “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” (1920) I’ve known rivers: I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset. I’ve known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. “Mother to Son” (1922) Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor— Bare. But all the time I’se been a-climbin’ on, And reachin’ landin’s, And turnin’ corners, And sometimes goin’ in the dark Where there ain’t been no light. So boy, don’t you turn back. Don’t you set down on the steps ’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard. Don’t you fall now— For I’se still goin’, honey, I’se still climbin’, And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. “The Weary Blues” (1925) Droning a drowsy syncopated tune, Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon, I heard a Negro play. Down on Lenox Avenue the other night By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light He did a lazy sway . -
To Download The
BERTO LT LANGSTON BRECHT HUGHES Ben Piazza in EDWARD ALBEE'S tlle • tile THE exception p~odigal ZOO STORY CHE RRY LANE THEATER 11 ru Ie son Adapted by 38 Commerce St. YU 9-2020 ERIC BENTLEY GREENWICH MEWS, 141 W. 13th ST. CH 3-6800 "flawlessly funny." CUE 110ne of the funniest evenings in town." UNANIMOUS ACCLAIM! ar1nur miller's a view lrom Iha bridae y;iiiC, SHER, SQ. pt, 7 Av W.4St.CH 2-3432 THE NEW THEATRE 154 East 54th st., PL 2-0440 SAVE UP TO 50o/o ON THEATRE TICKETS I 3 Dollars a year buys you a membership for two in Showcard's Theatre Club: This mem bership entitles you to discounts of up to 50% on at least 25 shows annually, on and off Broadway. 5000 New Yorkers are members now, and have been offered discounts on a fabulous list of shows. SAVINGS ON FIRST TICKET PURCHASE USUALLY PAYS THE COST OF MEMBERSHIP! For further information, write to Showcard Publications, Box S-1, 586 Ninth Avenue, New York 36, N. Y. Or if you're convinced already, send the $3. A Service of SHOWCARD, Off-Broadway's Official Theatre Program. SHOWCARD ' July 6-13-20-27 qREENWICH MEWS I THEATRE 141 West 13 Street CH 3-6800 Greenwich Players Inc. presents a BEVERLY LANDAU - STELLA HOLT - HENRIETTA STEIN production of BERTOLT BRECHT'S LANGSTON HUGHES' THE EXCEPTION AND THE RULE THE PRODIGAL SON (A Gospel Song-Play) Adapted by: ERIC BENTLEY Production directed by Directed by: ISAIAH SHEFFER VINNETTE CARROLL with with PHILIP A. -
Alvin Ailey's Embodiment of African American Culture
DeFrantz.00 FM 10/20/03 2:50 PM Page ii Alvin Ailey’s Embodiment of African American Culture 1 2004 DeFrantz.00 FM 10/20/03 2:50 PM Page iii DANCING REVELATIONS THOMAS F. DEFRANTZ DeFrantz.00 FM 10/20/03 2:50 PM Page iv 1 Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Bogotá Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi São Paulo Shanghai Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data DeFrantz, Thomas Dancing revelations : Alvin Ailey’s embodiment of African American culture / Thomas F. DeFrantz. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-19-515419-3 1.Ailey, Alivn. 2. Dancers—United States—Biography. 3.Choreographers— United States—Biography. 4.Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. 5.African American dance. I. Title. GV1785.A38 D44 2003 792.8'028'092—dc21 2002156670 Credits: Photographs: frontispiece and pages 5, 8, 19, 47, 63, 95, 101 courtesy and copyright by Jack Mitchell; cover illustration and pages 11, 12,courtesy and copyright by J.