Tag Archives: Langston Hughes

“Harlem” by Langston Hughes

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This poem is on page 67 of our handy dandy “Poems of New York” book. The poem is written by the Langston Hughes and it goes like this:

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore—

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over—

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

     Or does it explode?

I saw this poem and immediately recognized the first three lines of the poems. They are famous phrases that I immediately associate with Langston Hughes (as well as the “Life ain’t no crystal stairs” from Hughes’ “Mother to Son”). In the poem, Hughes is questioning what happens to a person’s dreams when it is halted. Hughes is talking about the progress of African-Americans, which is subject to White oppression in the early 20th century. In my 10th grade English class, I remember seeing Lorraine Hansberry’s film “A Raisin in the Sun”, which obtain its name from this poem. The film focuses around the lives of a black family in Chicago who strives to get rich, but their “dream is deferred”. The poem is short, crisp and to the point, yet powerful and has a deep meaning behind it, which I think makes it a good poem to go over in class.

 

~Christopher Chong

“Subway Rush Hour” by Langston Hughes

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I found this poem on page 68 of our poetry book. I am not entirely sure this is a great poem for us to go over in class, as it does not take any special talent to decipher what it is about. It is rather short, spanning just 16 words. Nevertheless, this is a very powerful poem that I figured was worth sharing, since not everyone would see it. Because it is short and I doubt many of us read these posts with our poetry book open, I will copy the poem here:

 

“Mingled

breath and smell

so close

mingled

black and white

so near

no room for fear.”

 

I think those last four lines are especially meaningful, as it speaks to the diversity of New York, but more importantly, to the fact that you cannot fear others when you are always around them. Hughes explains that there is no way to hide from people of a different race and, unless you plan to always be fearful, you cannot be afraid of these people. You have to recognize that a person’s skin color is not related to the kind of person they are. This poem also goes beyond race and beyond the subway. New York is so diverse with many people of different religious beliefs and sexual orientations and they are all over the city, not just in the subway.

Billie Holiday

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Despite saying I’ve never heard the blues before, I actually have! Billie Holiday is a famous blues, jazz, soul singer. She has many other talents but she is most well-known for her voice. I heard blues for the first time when I listened to Billie Holiday singing “Strange Fruit” in a Civil Rights Movement Through Photography workshop at the Museum of the City of New York. This song if you listen carefully to the words (or google them) is about the hanging of slaves in the South. This song perfectly combines the slow, heavy rhythm of the accompanying music with the lyrics that contain a powerful message.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs