Hey, Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? An Ode to Langston Hughes
With hands colored like burnin' coal My brother sings a song for the ill fated, forgotten union man.
From the mighty flow of the Great Niagara River to the billowing stacks at Bethlehem Steel.
Look here big brother man! A hand up not a handout for our struggling forgotten kin.
This poem was written after reflecting upon the poetry of Langston Hughes.
The content however emanates from my own personal experiences and my love for Langston's work.
If you are unfamiliar with his writing let me inform you that as a poet, short story writer, essayist and columnist Langston Hughes achieved fame as he chronicled the African-American experience until his tragic death in the late 1960's.
He was born in Joplin, Missouri in 1902.
While much of his poetry dealt with the trials and tribulations of being black in America, his own racial history often reflected the complex realities of modern day American life.
In comparative terms, Hughes' family legacy was both rich and diverse.
He was of African, European and Native American ancestry.
As the child of Carrie Mercer Langston and James Nathaniel Hughes, Langston Hughes' childhood was purportedly fraught with serious difficulties.
As a young boy Hughes' father divorced his mother and later resettled in Cuba before moving onward to Mexico.
His father's moves were made to escape the racism that he felt in America at this particular point in time.
In assessment of the significance of his childhood experiences, it is reported that Hughes' tumultuous relationship with his father caused him considerable pain.
Several suicide attempts were purportedly attributed to their stormy relationship.
In addition, some scholars have suggested that issues related to Hughes' sexual identity had a major impact upon his psychological development.
Hughes' references to Walt Whitman, for example, may have been inspired by the allusions that Whitman used to describe his own homosexuality.
It is arguable that these allusions served as an underlying but recurrent theme in many of his poems.
In any event, Hughes' portrait as a young artist is an experience from which we can all learn.
His poetry is poignant and provocative.
It is also beautiful and tragic.
One of my favorite poems is Freedoms' Plow.
In this work Hughes highlights the pride and pitfalls of what it means to be an American man.
From the mighty flow of the Great Niagara River to the billowing stacks at Bethlehem Steel.
Look here big brother man! A hand up not a handout for our struggling forgotten kin.
This poem was written after reflecting upon the poetry of Langston Hughes.
The content however emanates from my own personal experiences and my love for Langston's work.
If you are unfamiliar with his writing let me inform you that as a poet, short story writer, essayist and columnist Langston Hughes achieved fame as he chronicled the African-American experience until his tragic death in the late 1960's.
He was born in Joplin, Missouri in 1902.
While much of his poetry dealt with the trials and tribulations of being black in America, his own racial history often reflected the complex realities of modern day American life.
In comparative terms, Hughes' family legacy was both rich and diverse.
He was of African, European and Native American ancestry.
As the child of Carrie Mercer Langston and James Nathaniel Hughes, Langston Hughes' childhood was purportedly fraught with serious difficulties.
As a young boy Hughes' father divorced his mother and later resettled in Cuba before moving onward to Mexico.
His father's moves were made to escape the racism that he felt in America at this particular point in time.
In assessment of the significance of his childhood experiences, it is reported that Hughes' tumultuous relationship with his father caused him considerable pain.
Several suicide attempts were purportedly attributed to their stormy relationship.
In addition, some scholars have suggested that issues related to Hughes' sexual identity had a major impact upon his psychological development.
Hughes' references to Walt Whitman, for example, may have been inspired by the allusions that Whitman used to describe his own homosexuality.
It is arguable that these allusions served as an underlying but recurrent theme in many of his poems.
In any event, Hughes' portrait as a young artist is an experience from which we can all learn.
His poetry is poignant and provocative.
It is also beautiful and tragic.
One of my favorite poems is Freedoms' Plow.
In this work Hughes highlights the pride and pitfalls of what it means to be an American man.
