Showing results by author "Langston Hughes" in All Categories

This stirring coming-of-age tale unfolds in 1930s rural Kansas. A poignant portrait of African-American family life in the early twentieth century, it follows the story of young Sandy Rogers as he grows from a boy to a man. We meet Sandy's mother, Annjee, who works as a housekeeper for a wealthy white family; his strong-willed grandmother, Hager; Jimboy, Sandy's father, who travels the country looking for work; Aunt Tempy, the social climber; and Aunt Harriet, the blues singer who has turned away from her faith.

Langston Hughes, born in 1902, came of age early in the 1920s. In The Big Sea he recounts those memorable years in the two great playgrounds of the decade - Harlem and Paris. In Paris he was a cook and waiter in nightclubs. He knew the musicians and dancers, the drunks and dope fiends. In Harlem he was a rising young poet - at the center of the "Harlem Renaissance." Arnold Rampersad writes in his incisive new introduction to The Big Sea, an American classic: "This is American writing at its best...."

In I Wonder as I Wander, Langston Hughes vividly recalls the most dramatic and intimate moments of his life in the turbulent 1930s. His wanderlust leads him to Cuba, Haiti, Russia, Soviet Central Asia, Japan, Spain (during its Civil War), through dictatorships, wars, revolutions. He meets and brings to life the famous and the humble, from Arthur Koestler to Emma, the Black Mammy of Moscow.

A vast array of poems old and new joyously celebrates each special day of the year, telling of New Year's resolutions, Valentine's Day love, Easter parades, Fourth of July fireworks, and more. Featuring verse from favorites like Walt Whitman, Jack Prelutsky, and Langston Hughes and poetic lyrics from the likes of Cole Porter and Oscar Hammerstein, plus heartfelt introductions by Julie Andrews describing favorite family holiday moments, this is the perfect collection for families to share together.

Hear rare recordings from five of the most-respected African American poets reading their own works: Langston Hughes, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"; Arna Bontemps, "Nocturne At Bethesda"; Countee Cullen, "Heritage"; Gwendolyn Brooks, "The Vacant Lot"; and Sonia Sanchez, "Black Magic".

The intellectual and cultural revival of African-American arts and politics in the 1920s and 1930s was centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. Here are poems from three major contributors to that rebirth: The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes, The Heart of a Woman and Other Poems by Georgia Douglas Johnson, and Copper Sun by Countee Cullen, delivered by three multiaward–winning narrators.

Langston Hughes is a widely celebrated African American writer and important leader of the 1920s Harlem Renaissance. Deeply inspired by the great poet Walt Whitman, Hughes’ own writings gave voice to the Black community in the American literary canon. His assertion that “I, too, sing America” echoes through history and continues to be a battle cry in the fight for fair representation and equality. The Weary Blues, published in 1926, was Hughes’ first collection of poetry. He was only twenty-four years old at the time, but his insights carry wisdom beyond his years.