Langston Hughes (Voice of the Poet)
by Langston Hughes, J. D. McClatchy
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Book Summary Information
Author: J. D. McClatchy, Langston HughesEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Abridged, Audiobook
Published: 2002-03-26
ISBN: 0553714910
Publisher: Random House Audio
Book Reviews of Langston Hughes (Voice of the Poet)
Book Review: Voice of a Hero!!! to Me
Summary: 5 Stars
Humor, anger, and all the eloquence of the black experience in America is to be found in some of the poems presented here on this audio cd from the THE VOICE OF THE POET SERIES: LANGSTON HUGHES. Also presented is commentary inserted in-between Hughes reading of his poems. You get the background of how a certain poem came into being. You get Hughes talking about his childhood and racial pride. You get Hughes voice, soft, sort of high pitched, and inviting. MY LORD, MERRY-GO-ROUND, THE NEGRO SPEAKS OF RIVERS, JUDGEMENT DAY, MY PEOPLE, WHEN SUE WEARS RED, and FIRE are a few of the poems recited on this cd by Hughes. For those able to do so, I recommend purchasing the audio tape, LANGSTON HUGHES READS HIS POETRY, because this cd truncates some of Hughes commentary and poems.
It does a disservice to Hughes to dismiss much of his body of work as "wry" to make a particular audience more comfortable with it. It does a similar disservice to Hughes' integrity to ignore that both his parents were black and play up distant white blood to make him more palatable, so-called universal, to the larger audiencences prejudices (most of black America share his same distant bloodlines). One of Hughes's biographers said you cannot respect Hughes without respecting black American people and their culture in the U.S. To disrespect one is to do so to both. Hughes's black pride permeates his so-called race poems and poems of social protest from the 30s and the vast majority of his work in general.
Langston Hughes showed his anger and bitterness toward the injustices of racism as he sharecropped his way among many different genres of the arts as a proud and unflinching black American. His genius, and lesson, was that he did not allow this bitternerss and anger to cause him to hate or infuse his body of work with hate. He may not have liked some in gerneral, but he "never, never" hated. Hughes had to much humanity in him to reward hate with hate. Even in his anger, Hughes could be benevolent. Hughes did not hesitate to like anyone who showed respect and gestures of friendship to him and his people. His lesson to black artists was be proud of their heritage in their work and not run away from it for a quick profit and fame in catering to the prejudices of the larger community beyond that of black America. His lesson was also that they should not be
consumed with anger and bitterness even though they had a right to be angry because through their words a world could be enlightened and made better.
Here in THE VOICE OF THE POET: LANGSTON HUGHES, as other works by Hughes, a man is revealed who was often angry and bitter, but who never lost sight that there was some good in the world worth fightiing for. This makes him a writer to be universally admired by everyone regardless of race, religion, and whatever.
Summary of Langston Hughes (Voice of the Poet)
THE VOICE OF THE POETA remarkable series of audiobooks, featuring distinguished twentieth-century American poets reading from their own work. A first in audiobook publishing--a series that uses the written word to enhance the listening experience--poetry to be read as well as heard. Each audiobook includes rare archival recordings and a book with the text of the poetry, a bibliography, and commentary by J. D. McClatchy, the poet and critic, who is the editor of The Yale Review.
"Hearing poetry spoken by the poet is always a unique illumination. This series opens our ears to some of the most passionate utterances and enthralling performances ever recorded."--Seamus Heaney, Nobel Prize winner, Poetry
"There has been a great need for a well-edited audio series for poetry, with high literary and technical quality. J. D. McClatchy has filled this need with great style."--Robert Pinsky
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