Lesson #1

 

 

LANGSTAN HUGHES 

 

The lesson on Langston Hughes made me appreciate and more interested in his work. I learned about my own history through his lesson and through his poetry. He was bi- racial, his mother was African American and his father was white. Being half African American myself its important to me to connect and be educated on the people that helped push through racial differences. Hughes is the most famous black poet and was from Harlem New York and was empowering during the Harlem Renaissance. Through his poems he became a representative figure and created a new philosophy for African Americans. Langston Hughes had hardships and continued to push through. He wrote one of his most famous poems on the way back from visiting his father in Mexico who didn't approve of him being bi- racial. "Negro-speaks of Rivers" was a deep poem were he is making the connection that rivers flow such as the Mississippi and the Nile river the same way blood flows through people no matter what race or background they are from. I loved how he incorporated  "I" throughout his poems and put himself and other people into his writing. It amazes me how he became nationally famous and didn't just break racial barriers in the US but interpreted history in other countries. Langston wrote another famous poem "I Too" on his was back from Italy which at that time had a great deal of racism. People began to pay him to speak in areas that would other wise be un accepting of his back ground.