Langston Hughes: Poet & Troubadour
What's On Display | Poetry Links & Links to Musical Settings | Library Exhibits
Poetry and music are sister arts, and nowhere is their affinity more marked than in the work of the most celebrated African-American poet of the twentieth century, Langston Hughes. 2002 marks the centenary of his birth in Joplin, Missouri on February 1, 1902. Lauded as the "Jazz Poet" and communicator of the Blues and considered the foremost poet of the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes's first volume of verse, Weary Blues appeared in 1926 followed with Fine Clothes to the Jew (1927), the title of which refers to selling one's possessions to the pawnbroker in hard times. In "A Note on the Blues" in that volume, Hughes commented that "The first eight and last nine poems in this book are written after the manner of the Negro folk-songs known as Blues." His preoccupation and experimentation with the rhythms, melodies, and improvisational possibilities of the folk tradition continued throughout his career. His love of music, especially jazz is reflected in later works, Montage of a Dream Deferred (1951), the most enduring and well know of his lyric volumes. Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz (1961) features a virtuoso leitmotif of the "Hesitation Blues," another traditional folk melody.
The exhibit includes a case devoted to the centenary celebration of the poet's life, including the Black Heritage commemorative stamp and pin issued this year by the U.S. Postal Service in Hughes's honor, a souvenir program from "Let America be America Again: An International Symposium on the Art, Life & Legacy of Langston Hughes" sponsored by the University of Kansas and the Langston Hughes Society, as well as the second edition of The Life of Langston Hughes by his official biographer and editor, Arnold Rampersad and the two volumes of Hughes's autobiography, The Big Sea (1940) and I wonder as I Wander (1956). A case devoted to the early verse (1921-1940) includes an autographed copy of Fine Clothes to the Jew (1927), the booklet Scottsboro Limited (1932), A New Song (1938), and The Dream Keeper (1932).
That Hughes was an accomplished translator of poetry from the Spanish into English is not widely recognized, and a third case displays a fine example of his work with the rhythmic, socially conscious poetry of the Afro-Cuban writer, Nicolás Guillén. The beautifully printed Cuba Libre, with its line drawings and fine bindings by Gar Gilbert is a fine example of the printer's art. Also included are Hughes' renderings of Federico García Lorca's Romancero Gitano or Gypsy Ballads and Selected Poems of Gabriela Mistral. These volumes reflect his pioneering efforts over thirty years to bring Spanish writers to the attention of North American readers.
What's On Display
Featured in the case devoted to Hughes's later verse is a copy of a limited edition of 500 copies of Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz (1961) with a handsomely designed binding and dust jacket, which is dedicated "To Louis Armstrong, the greatest horn blower of them all." A broadside of "Backlash Blues," a 1966 poem, first published in The Crisis and later included in the posthumously published volume The Panther & the Lash, occupies the center of the case. Also displayed is the twenty-third printing of Selected Poems, first published in 1959 and reprinted by Alfred A. Knopf in honor of the centenary. The paperbound edition of The Panther & the Lash: Poems of Our Times features a cover reproduction of Winold Reiss's pastel drawing of Langston Hughes, which hangs in the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, a gift of W. Tjark Reiss in memory of his father.
An upright vitrine contains musical scores by several composers inspired by the poetry of Langston Hughes. Among them is Elie Siegmeister, whose setting of the cycle "The Face of War" can be heard by clicking on the links at the bottom of this page. Scores by Ricky Ian Gordon for "Genius Child, " Lowell Liebermann for "Dream Songs," John Musto for, "Shadow of the Blues," Florence Price for "Two Songs, " and Howard Swanson for "Night Song," are also included. Sheet music for two songs written by Hughes for the Broadway hit musical "Street Scene" are also displayed.
The second upright vitrine showcases a recent anthology, Poetry Speaks, in which forty-two major poets are profiled along with examples of their poetry, read by each. Links to the four poems read by Langston Hughes are also accessible at the bottom of this page. Additional anthologies and the newly released tenth printing of The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes are also on view.
Poetry Links |
Links to Musical Settings |
"The Negro Speaks of Rivers""Mother to Son""The Weary Blues""Harlem" |
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These audio clips could be listened to from the kiosk on the first floor of the Main Library when the exhibit was on display, and are now available to patrons upon request in the Music Library Listening Center. |
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