Authors - Biography, African American Poetry, African American Writers - Biography
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Overview
The poetry of Langston Hughes pulses with the rhythms of jazz and blues and the language of the streets. Rooted in loneliness, prejudice, and poverty, Hughes emerged as the best-known, and perhaps best-loved, African-American poet of the twentieth century. Behind his outpouring of words is a man of extraordinary determination and talent, seasoned with a delightful touch of humor. Jodie A. Shull's insightful and highly readable new biography sheds light on one of the most important figures of the Harlem Renaissance.Synopsis
The poetry of Langston Hughes pulses with the rhythms of jazz and blues, and the language of the streets. In describing the everyday lives of African Americans, he became the leading African-American poet of the world. Jodie A. Shull's insightful and highly readable new biography sheds light on one of the most important figures of the Harlem Renaissance and introduces another generation to his extraordinary outpouring of poetry, short stories, novels, plays, and other work.Editorials
School Library Journal
Gr 6 Up-Well documented and laden with citations, this text is clearly written and forthright in its presentation of facts and events, but falls short of bringing Hughes to life. While Shull presents him as an idealist and champion of social justice ("As always, Hughes's sympathy for downtrodden people everywhere formed the heart of his artistic efforts"), she fails to include more than a few snippets of his verse. The vagabond nature of his upbringing and an adulthood marked by frequent travel and constant near-poverty are recounted in a sometimes dull recitation of dates and places. While thorough in recounting his collegial relationships with other writers and figures of the Harlem Renaissance, Shull does not quite succeed in getting under Hughes's skin, for example failing to mention his homosexuality. The text is interspersed with black-and-white and sepia photographs, as well as colorful sidebars about the poet's contemporaries and his social and political world. Direct quotations from Hughes pepper the text, making this an acceptable additional purchase that will be useful for reports. However, Milton Meltzer's Langston Hughes (Millbrook, 1997) offers a much more personal portrait.-Joyce Adams Burner, Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Book Details
Published
June 28, 2006
Publisher
Enslow Publishers, Incorporated
Pages
128
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780766024687