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New Negro Poets U. S. A.
BOOK OF POETRY BY BLACK POETS. PUBLISHED 1964. EDITED BY LANGSTON HUGHES. INCLUDES BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES ON EACH POET.
- GenresPoetry
127 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1964
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About the author
Langston Hughes
624 books2,152 followersThrough poetry, prose, and drama, American writer James Langston Hughes made important contributions to the Harlem renaissance; his best-known works include
Weary Blues
(1926) and
The Ways of White Folks
(1934).
People best know this social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist James Mercer Langston Hughes, one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry, for his famous written work about the period, when "Harlem was in vogue."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langsto...
People best know this social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist James Mercer Langston Hughes, one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry, for his famous written work about the period, when "Harlem was in vogue."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langsto...
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August 14, 2017
As my summer vacation comes to a close and I was in need of quick reading, I found New Negro Poets U. S. A. on my parents' book shelf. A relic from 1964 at the dawn of the Civil Rights Act, Jim Crow laws were still very much in place in the United States. Famed poet laureates Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks brought together the work of new African American poets in one volume of poetry to speak of their current state in society. With poems speaking of a wide range of topics, New Negro Poets U. S. A. is a volume that should not be overlooked when discussing African American poetry.
In her forward, Brooks describes the volume as being in five parts, each focusing on a theme: lyrical, protest, personal, general descriptions, and personal reflective statements. While the subject matter can overlap, each section stays true to its theme. Part I brings the reader the work of now well known Audre Lorde who at the time was a young poet. In her "And Fall Shall Sit in Judgment," Lorde compares African Americans' place in society to the changing seasons. She points out that no matter how much changes, things remain the same, speaking to the bleak outlook of African Americans. Mari Evans also talks about "sorrow... for things undone...undreamed, unrealized, unattained...." in an almost wistful tone wishing that she had a brighter future ahead of her. Even thought these poems are short, they speak volumes to the status of the United States prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act.
The poems in the volume spoke of a range of topics including Jim Crow in the south and domestic violence. Ray Durem in his "Award" points out that he could not take his daughter to a bathroom in Texas due to her skin color. This was after he had been a war hero in both Spain and Mexico, yet it would not matter if he had received the army's highest honors as long as his skin was too dark in the wrong place. It is little wonder to me that northern communities as Harlem, Chicago, and Detroit flourished as African Americans continued to journey away from the south as late as the early 1960s. Naomi Long Madgett writes in "Midway" how she has "come this far to freedom and won't turn back," while Conrad Kent Riversspeaks of "The Still Voice of Harlem." In each instance, African Americans felt more comfortable within their neighborhoods in northern cities and had no desire to return south.
Yet, domestic violence and the presence of guns permeated thoughts. Poets as a young LeRoi Jones and Robert Abrams spoke of rape, the bleakness of society, and death in their work. Jones goes as far to mention in his "Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note" how he feared for safety. Passing his daughter's room to check on her, he "opened the door, there was no one there...only she on her knees, peeking into her own clasped hands," perhaps praying for safety. In this last, telling section, poems talk of "rape of magnolias" and a husband abusing his wife, then killing her, and then shooting the poet who had overhead the dispute. The prevalence of these issues is alarming in that prior to the full passage of the Civil Rights Act and a bleak future ahead, that people turned to violence. I would hope that in small ways that the poetry in this volume would alleviate some of the tension of that time period.
Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks are the most notable African American poets of the first half of the 20th century. In New Negro Poets U. S. A., they have assembled a quality cross section of poets in this volume. While their own work is absent here, the younger generation of poets take up the torch in speaking of the place of their community in overall society. While this was not the light reading I was seeking to end my vacation on a positive note, this small volume of poetry is enriching and enlightening. It may be hard to find so I am grateful that I had a chance to read this sampling of poets who are now the torch bearers of today.
In her forward, Brooks describes the volume as being in five parts, each focusing on a theme: lyrical, protest, personal, general descriptions, and personal reflective statements. While the subject matter can overlap, each section stays true to its theme. Part I brings the reader the work of now well known Audre Lorde who at the time was a young poet. In her "And Fall Shall Sit in Judgment," Lorde compares African Americans' place in society to the changing seasons. She points out that no matter how much changes, things remain the same, speaking to the bleak outlook of African Americans. Mari Evans also talks about "sorrow... for things undone...undreamed, unrealized, unattained...." in an almost wistful tone wishing that she had a brighter future ahead of her. Even thought these poems are short, they speak volumes to the status of the United States prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act.
The poems in the volume spoke of a range of topics including Jim Crow in the south and domestic violence. Ray Durem in his "Award" points out that he could not take his daughter to a bathroom in Texas due to her skin color. This was after he had been a war hero in both Spain and Mexico, yet it would not matter if he had received the army's highest honors as long as his skin was too dark in the wrong place. It is little wonder to me that northern communities as Harlem, Chicago, and Detroit flourished as African Americans continued to journey away from the south as late as the early 1960s. Naomi Long Madgett writes in "Midway" how she has "come this far to freedom and won't turn back," while Conrad Kent Riversspeaks of "The Still Voice of Harlem." In each instance, African Americans felt more comfortable within their neighborhoods in northern cities and had no desire to return south.
Yet, domestic violence and the presence of guns permeated thoughts. Poets as a young LeRoi Jones and Robert Abrams spoke of rape, the bleakness of society, and death in their work. Jones goes as far to mention in his "Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note" how he feared for safety. Passing his daughter's room to check on her, he "opened the door, there was no one there...only she on her knees, peeking into her own clasped hands," perhaps praying for safety. In this last, telling section, poems talk of "rape of magnolias" and a husband abusing his wife, then killing her, and then shooting the poet who had overhead the dispute. The prevalence of these issues is alarming in that prior to the full passage of the Civil Rights Act and a bleak future ahead, that people turned to violence. I would hope that in small ways that the poetry in this volume would alleviate some of the tension of that time period.
Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks are the most notable African American poets of the first half of the 20th century. In New Negro Poets U. S. A., they have assembled a quality cross section of poets in this volume. While their own work is absent here, the younger generation of poets take up the torch in speaking of the place of their community in overall society. While this was not the light reading I was seeking to end my vacation on a positive note, this small volume of poetry is enriching and enlightening. It may be hard to find so I am grateful that I had a chance to read this sampling of poets who are now the torch bearers of today.
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