Thursday, April 2, 2009

National Poetry Month: Langston Hughes


Langston Hughes is one of those poets who is ever-present in American culture. I can't remember not knowing "Harlem," "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," or "Mother to Son." Digging a little deeper, I found "I, Too," which I understood intuitively at once, and gained a deeper understanding of when I had the context of Walt Whitman's "I Hear America Singing." Walt also shows up in Hughes' "Old Walt."

Another Hughes' poem of allusory importance for me has been "Port Town." Despite its short lines, it had that same celebratory feel of so much of Whitman's work. I automatically loved its spirit. It was reading this poem that I first came to the realization that Hughes was homosexual, which greatly increased my empathy. Later, rereading Whitman with "Port Town" in mind, I came to the same realization. The real importance to me, though, was in helping me finally come to an understanding of Emily Dickinson, a poet I have continually struggled to get. Seeing the line "Wild, white nights," I took it as an allusion to Dickinson's "Wild Nights -- Wild Nights!" Reading it, I saw the whole poem was homage, her poem being about a wild night with a sailor she meets at port. Also, it let me see why Hughes' uses short lines. Although he doesn't use dashes, Hughes is able to conjure a voice which meshes with Whitman's even while emulating Dickinson. Rereading her now is a much more pleasurable experience.

Hughes most important poetic contribution, though, may be Montage of a Dream Deferred. This epic is made up of several different, smaller poems, much in the same way as a poem like Allen Ginsberg's Fall of America would later be composed. Many of the poems within it have been anthologized without the context of the others, but taken all at once, the poem is a beautiful experience. For a good sample poem within it, consider "Ballad of the Landlord," a piece which implies a ballad, follows a blues form before fragmenting into jazz. Truly transformative.

No comments: