The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes

by Langston Hughes
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If you think that all poetry is too fancy, hard to understand, or pretentious, you should give this book a try. Langston Hughes wanted ordinary people to read, enjoy, and think about his poetry, so he wrote for them rather than for college English teachers. His writing isn’t dry or dull. It’s musical, and it sounds beautiful when you read it out loud. However, there is more to his poems than this. Hughes was proud of his African heritage, and he celebrated it in many of his poems. He wrote about ordinary people and their lives, hopes, and dreams, as well as problems that people faced, such as violence, hunger, poverty, and racism. His poems are not all serious, either – when he wanted to, he could be funny while taking on serious issues.

The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes tries to include all of his poems, as well as a little background on Langston Hughes himself and a few notes on his poems. With over 800 poems included, you should be able to find quite a few that really hit home for you. Keep in mind, though, that Langston Hughes was a very passionate, complex, and honest person, and sometimes his flaws as a human being show up in his writing. It’s possible that some of his ideas might offend you. If you find a poem you don’t like, just keep reading. You’ll find something amazing sooner or later.

Just to give you an idea of what his poetry is like, here is “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” It was the first of his poems that I ever read, and it stuck with me.

I’ve known rivers:
I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the
     flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln
     went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy
     bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I’ve known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

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Where to Find It

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