The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes (Vintage Classics)

by Langston Hughes

Paperback, 1995

Status

Available

Call number

811.52

Genres

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

Campus Office Stacks

Publication

Vintage (1995), Edition: Annotated, 736 pages

Description

"The ultimate book for both the dabbler and serious scholar. -- [Hughes] is sumptuous and sharp, playful and sparse, grounded in an earthy music -- This book is a glorious revelation." -- Boston Globe Spanning five decades and comprising 868 poems (nearly 300 of which have never before appeared in book form), this magnificent volume is the definitive sampling of a writer who has been called the poet laureate of African America--and perhaps our greatest popular poet since Walt Whitman. Here, for the first time, are all the poems that Langston Hughes published during his lifetime, arranged in the general order in which he wrote them and annotated by Arnold Rampersad and David Roessel. Alongside such famous works as "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" and Montage of a Dream Deferred, The Collected Poems includes the author's lesser-known verse for children; topical poems distributed through the Associated Negro Press; and poems such as "Goodbye Christ" that were once suppressed. Lyrical and pungent, passionate and polemical, the result is a treasure of a book, the essential collection of a poet whose words have entered our common language.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member whitewavedarling

This is probably my favorite collected collection of poetry. As a whole, Hughes' work is more worthwhile and musical than any other poet I can think of, and is capable of working on the most inexperienced reader of poetry just as much as the more experienced reader. I believe anyone can find

something they'll love in this book, and will have to be touched by his words and thoughts, as well as the jazz that floats throughout the whole collection. Absolutely worthwhile to add to any collection.

Show Less

9 more

LibraryThing member beau.p.laurence

hughes was one of the best poets of 20th century America. he combined Black slang, poetic form, and biting social commentary. an important person to have read.

LibraryThing member ostrom

One of my most favorite collections of poetry. Rampersad and Roessel did a great job.

LibraryThing member HHS-Students

Reviewed by Marshaye (Class of 2010)
This is a book full of different poems that Langston Hughes wrote out his life. There a lot of poems you can relate to or just enjoy.

LibraryThing member schwi101

In Langston Hughes’ On the Road the underlying message conveyed is that our american social psyche is imbalanced. When looking at Hughes work we can easily see the characters that emulate the different elements of Jung’s model of the psyche. When reading the short story I was able to indicate

the segregation and inequality expressed through the unwelcome black man but I was not sure how it all related until talking in class. After determining that the Church represented establishment as whole, things started to come together. I believe it to be interesting that when reading you can recognize that Sargeant is the shadow element of Jung’s model. Sargeant is the dark side of society. In the beginning, he “never even noticed the snow” and is described as “a human piece of night”. I believe the snow represents purity and white and since he cannot see it he is neither of these things. The night represents darkness which just reinforces the idea that Sargeant is the underside of our society. Hughes uses symbolism often within this work to convey this underlying message. The Christ being made of stone and even stating how glad he is to be free from the statue expresses how he has been trapped by society. By talking and walking with Sargeant, Christ is revealing that he does not believe Sargeant to be unequal and less worthy then the white people who stated Sargeant cannot go into “their” church. Christ even mentions that he will be going to Kansas city, implying that he himself is a minority and needs to get some work. Through these events Hughes illustrates that Christ accepts all and the people who compose our society today have skewed his views to create a lack of harmony.

Show Less

LibraryThing member cmfonfara

I'd like to focus primarily on the symbolism of the church door in Hughes' "On the Road", which carries several implications. The door is all that is keeping Sargeant from a warm, dry place to sleep and thus from happiness, albeit only the temporary kind. The door acts in the same way as society

has acted towards him, preventing him access in an unsympathetic, unyielding way. From this perspective, when Sargeant tears down the door, it could be interpreted as removing the impediment to the happiness which society strived to keep from him. From another point of view, tearing down the church door could be interpreted as breaking down the barrier between Christ and his people, Sargeant in particular. From this view, Hughes seems to be saying that the wealthy white people had locked Christ away for themselves did not allow other people access, and that by breaking down the door, Sargeant was freeing Christ and allowing him to help his people. Furthermore, this interpretation suggests that Christ’s true people are the ones who have been denied his presence by the oppressive upper classes, an idea that is solidified by Christ’s intention of continuing on to Kansas City, which harbored many transients during the Depression. Both of these interpretations involve metaphors regarding the barriers placed around black people and minorities at this time in history, preventing them from things like education, religion, and prosperity, allowing the reader insight into Hughes’ perspective of society at the time in the story.

Show Less

LibraryThing member newar100

In Langston Hughes’ short story, “On The Road,” there are many underlying metaphors to racial prejudices. These metaphors are not overtly portrayed but when one looks at the story with an analytical eye it is possible to connect the snow to that of the white people oppressing the blacks.

Sergeant, the protagonist in the story, is a black man looking for shelter. He is turned away by the minister, arrested when attempting to sleep in the church, all of which show how black people have been mistreated in the past. He turns to religious establishments in an attempt to find kindness, food, and shelter, but receives none. Instead he is belittled and arrested. Hughes tells how Christ is on his way to Kansas City when he encounters Sergeant, which can be interpreted to say that he is going to Kansas City to be surrounded by people looking for work. This is a place where people are kind and appreciative unlike where he was originally. Human kind has many faults and they are really tested when people come to them asking for help. It is so much easier to arrest someone and put them in prison rather than deal with the actual problem and attempt to give them long-term help.

Show Less

LibraryThing member bjeans

Langston Hughes, a graceful poet full of wit and lonely charm. The book is a straight forward piece of art about racial conflict written in sensible verse. You will wish you knew him in the flesh after reading these poems. Brilliant.

LibraryThing member MarissaWilliams

Summary:
"Hold Fast to Dreams" is a poem about how important dreams are and why we should never let them go.

Personal reaction:
This has always been my favorite poem. It taught me to keep dreams alive.

Classroom extension ideas:
1. Research African American poets.
2. Share other figures from the Harlem

Renassiance

Show Less

LibraryThing member unclebob53703

Wow, are these good! All I knew of him was "The Dream Deferred," so this was an eye-opener. Lots of lovely, lyrical poems that are full of music and sadness. I don't like paperbacks so I got it with the library binding--it seems sturdy enough.

Fewer