The Panther and the Lash

by Langston Hughes

Hughes's last collection of poems commemorates the experience of Black Americans in a voice that no reader could fail to hear—the last testament of a great American writer who grappled fearlessly and artfully with the most compelling issues of his time.

“Langston Hughes is a titanic figure in 20th-century American literature ... a powerful interpreter of the American experience.” — The Philadelphia Inquirer

From the publication of his first book in 1926, Langston Hughes was America's acknowledged poet of color. Here, Hughes's voice—sometimes ironic, sometimes bitter, always powerful—is more pointed than ever before, as he explicitly addresses the racial politics of the sixties in such pieces as "Prime," "Motto," "Dream Deferred," "Frederick 1817-1895," "Still Here," "Birmingham Sunday." " History," "Slave," "Warning," and "Daybreak in Alabama."

Genres: Poetry, Classics, African American, Literature, The United States Of America, Fiction, Adult

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 12, 1967

About the author

Through 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...

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, that was magnificent! Can't wait to read more of his poetry!

“Words Like Freedom

There are words like Freedom
Sweet and wonderful to say.
On my heartstrings freedom sings
All day everyday.

There are words like Liberty
That almost make me cry.
If you had known what I know
You would know why.”

“Militant

Let all who will
Eat quietly the bread of shame.
I cannot,
Without complaining loud and long,
Tasting its bitterness in my throat
And feeling to my very soul
It's wrong.
For honest work
You proffer me poor pay,
For honest dreams
Your spit is in my face,
And so my fist is clenched
Today--
To strike your face.”

“Justice

That Justice is a blind goddess
Is a thing to which we black are wise:
Her bandage hides two festering sores
That once perhaps were eyes.”

“Oppression

Now dreams
Are not available
To the dreamers,
Nor songs
To the singers.

In some lands
Dark night
And cold steel
Prevail--
But the dream
Will come back,
And the song
Break
Its jail.”

“Frosting

Freedom
Is just frosting
On somebody else's
Cake--
And so must be
Till we
Learn how to
Bake.”

“Go slow, they say-
while the bite
Of the dog is fast.
Go slow, I hear-
While they tell me
You can't eat here!
You can't live here!
You can't work here!
Don't Demonstrate! Wait!-
While they lock the gate.
Am I supposed to be God,
Or an angel with wings
And a halo on my head
While jobless I starve to dead?
Am I supposed to forgive
And meekly live
Going slow, slow, slow,
Slow, slow, slow,
Slow, slow,
Slow,
Slow,
Slow?
????
???
??
? ”

[Sivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

DISCLAIMER: I AM EXTREMELY BIASED BECAUSE I LOVE LANGSTON HUGHES. HE'S GREAT.

Okay, so this was the first book of poems that I've read of Langston Hughes', though I have read several of his poems before. This book was very short, and it was split into seven sections: Words on Fire, American Heartbreak, The Bible Belt, The Face of War, African Question Mark, Dinner Guest: Me, and Daybreak in Alabama. This book is easy to read and can be read very quickly in one sitting.

Poetry always comes down to taste. Either you like a poet's style or you do not. A poet's style does not often change, so, I personally believe, if you read 5-8 poems of the same poet, you can definitively say whether or not you like that poet. I love Langston Hughes. Though there were perhaps one or two poems that did not appeal to me within the book, I could still appreciate the artistry that was required to create them.

My favorite section by far was The Face of War. This section was only about eight pages, and I loved each poem in it very much. My favorite poems outside that section were "The Backlash Blues," "Junior Addict," and "Vari-Colored Song." I wish I could say why these were my favorites, but I do not know. In the first and third, there were amazing rhyme schemes and memorable lines which I will copy into the end of this review. The first, however, discusses injustices against black people and karma, while the third talks of more random things such as hearts of gold and "down" South. "Junior Addict" discusses drug use, which I have never before seen in Hughes' poetry, so that was very interesting to read.

To conclude, poetry is all about taste. If you like Langston Hughes' writing, you will probably like this book. If you do not like his poetry, then you probably will not like this book. If you are not sure how you feel about his poetry, perhaps read the first poem of each section within this book and base an opinion on that. Langston Hughes is one of the greatest poets of the Harlem Renaissance, so even if you do not enjoy his poetry, it is good to be aware of it and understand its literary significance.

Here are my favorite lines from the favorite poems I listed before:

"You give me second-class houses,
Give me second-class schools,
Second-class houses
And second-class schools.
You must think us colored folks
Are second-class fools."
(The Backlash Blues, lines 7-12)

"(Yet little can
tomorrow's sunshine give
to one who will not live.)"
(Junior Addict, lines 16-18)

"I wonder why red clay's so red
And Georgia skies so blue.
I wonder why it's yes to me,
But yes, sir, sir, to you."
(Vari-Colored Song, lines 9-12)

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are many great poems here. But sometimes the poem you see is the one most applicable to your own life at the moment.

IMPASSE
I could tell you,
If I wanted to,
What makes me
What I am.
But I don’t
Really want to—
And you don’t
Give a damn.

[Mary Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first foray into Langston Hughes. I am woefully ignorant about his life and writing, so this seemed like a great start.

This is a book of collected poetry, but it gives a fairly cohesive story and history until the 1960s. The poems vary in length, subject, and occasionally tone, but there is an undercurrent of frustration in this collection.

I don't read a lot of poetry (usually it's lost on me) but I can appreciate the nature of this work. It's concrete and full of feeling.

Two of them that I really like (they are also featured right next to each other) are:

Question and Answer
Durban, Birmingham,
Cape Town, Atlanta,
Johannesburg, Watts,
The earth around
Struggling, fighting,
Dying--for what?

A world to gain.

Groping, hoping,
Waiting--for what?

A world to gain.

Dreams kicked asunder,
Why not go under?

There's a world to gain.

But suppose I don't want it,
Why take it?

To remake it.


History
The past has been a mint
Of blood and sorrow.
That must not be
True of tomorrow.

--

Highly recommended.

[John Wiswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brazen poetry written in simple lines that express true emotion and everyday bravery, so readable that I could barely stand it. Hughes writes on themes like the despairs and desires of the black community during a much darker time in our history. Despite the oppression, he is spirited and proud, especially in “Dinner Guest: Me.” His words are both plain and beautiful, accessible to all age levels that can appreciate the context.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The issues of social justice, the sting of slavery, fight for freedom, etc, are all still relevant and current as these poems were when written 50 years ago.

[Luccas Hallman]

It would be too bad if Jesus
We’re to come back black
There are too many churches
Where he could not pray
In the U.S.A.,
Where entrance to Negroes,
No matter how sanctified,
Is denied,
Where race, not religion,
Is glorified.
But say it-
You may be
Crucified

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pulled this slim volume off the public library shelves on an impulse, because I read I Wonder as I Wander: An Autobiographical Journey a few months ago and was impressed by the air of dignified calm and rueful good humor that the author seemed to project in the face of the disgraceful indignities routinely experienced in the Jim Crow south and, to lesser extent, elsewhere in the US and the world.

These poems are largely from 20 to 30 years later and you can tell the patience is wearing thin. Given a lifetime of ill-treatment, the reason is no mystery.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man. I love Langston.

His poetry is just so tight, so pointed, so damnably relevant still. I'd read one from the 1940s, and it was, Holy Christ, this speaks to yesterday.

I'm not sure if that speaks more to his genius, or to our lingering failure as a culture.

This a perfect book of poems, I might add...not academically exhaustive and exhausting, but just the right serving for an evening of wine and reading and reflection.

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Airy and angry, Hughes' poems successfully combine an almost playful whimsy and wit while exposing all that is vile and shameful in the American soul. Which we could perhaps use more of right now.
Many of these poems are polemic and vitriolic, especially dealing with race in the US. Despite that, they are still wonderful, slight little shaming things.

[Mark Robison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few decades ago when zines (DIY magazines) were big, I'd gotten a zine of Langston Hughes' most radical poems. This book overlaps some with it, but it's not as strong top-to-bottom, although it's just as fiery.

He compiled it in the 1960s, picking race-focused poems from throughout his career to tie in with the civil rights and black power movements. The oldest poems are the best. To me, he seems to be trying too hard to be relevant with the newer ones. Still, there are some classics here and I like these better than Nikki Giovanni's earliest books, which also focus on race and came out around the same time.

There's "Mr. Backlash Blues" that inspired Nina Simone. "Ghosts of 1619" is one title that might be more meaningful today than when he wrote it. There is more than a little rage here, as in the poem "Militant" that ends And so my fist is clenched/ Today —/ to strike your face.

This is Malcolm, not Martin, with more than a few uses of the N-word.

Dream Deferred

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore —
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over —
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
Like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Langston Hughes is a poet who somehow manages to turn Jazz into words, and every poem in this collection is dripping with the honest jazz of a man writing about his race and his humanity. The reader will probably recognize poems like "Dream Deferred," but other poems like Birmingham Sunday, Christ in Alabama, Harlem, and Impasse will leave the reader with a different take for these poems explore the concept of being black in America at a time when the cultural identity of African Americans was changing and shifting into something more political and artistic.

This book is a collection of Jazz imbued songs about being black and being alive, and regardless of the reader's race this book will surely make feel the music and the energy in every word.

[Gijs Limonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just got to know the works of Langston Hughes, I've been missing out! His style is more pithy and biting in this volume. Some favorites:

HISTORY
The past has been a mint
Of blood and sorrow.
That must not be True of tomorrow.


PEACE
We passed their graves:
The dead men there,
Winners or losers,
Did not care.
In the dark
They could not see
Who had gained
The victory.


DREAM DUST
Gather out of star-dust
Earth-dust,
Cloud-dust,
And splinters of hail,
One handful of dream-dust       
Not for sale.

[Trin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw, angry, and powerful. I am shocked and devastated by how relevant all of these poems still are. I suspect Hughes would not be.

[Sugarpuss O'Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Mr Hughes' first poetry collection (The Weary Blues) & his final poetry collection (The Panther and the Lash) on the same day, so I thought I would do something I've never done before & talk about two books at the same time. . .

Langston Hughes was unashamedly Black at a time when it could get him killed. You feel it in WEARY & 41 years later in PANTHER. The differences however, are that in WEARY, the poems were somewhat softer, rhapsodic, almost music-like (whether this was due to his being 24, or a by-product of him trying to be published, I do not know); In PANTHER, his poems hit you right between the eyes. By this time, the exuberance of his youth has been replaced by the realities of 40 years of Jim Crow. One example: In WEARY, Harlem seems much more lyrical than it does in PANTHER where Harlem seems almost prison-like. But in both collections, Mr Hughes' plight for everyday Black folks is palpable. All in all, reading the bookends of Mr Hughes' poetry makes me want to read more & learn about his journey from WEARY to PANTHER.

[Adam Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this wrong book twice. Each time imagining it had "Montage Of A Dream Deferred", which is one of the poems that most made my head spin in middle school. The Selected Poems Of Langston Hughes was one of, if not the first poetry books I purchased. And twice I was in a used book store saw the color scheme and Langston's face (which is much different from the portrait on Selected Poems) and grabbed it.

It was definitely worth buying once, and I'm sure I'll soon realize which friend absolutely has to read it, and let them keep it or give it to someone else.

The poetry in this collection does many of the things that exhaust me about the poetry written a generation or two before me. It has a rhyme scheme that has since become trite but no strict meter. It's very cellophane in its politics, which are politics that I agree with, and thus want something with more depth.

But these are all my problems. My inability to get past the importance. Langston Hughes's infusion of Jazz format in his poetry was something new during his lifetime, and he's one of the foremost and successful writers of that. While I've heard two generations of poets streaming off the rivers Langston wrote of, the fact is, he's the source.

Opinionated thirty-something me is so exhausted by poetry and full of eye roll and grunt, but when I was fourteen and raised in a practically albino town, Langston was the writer that inspired me to check out the "African-American Literature" section of whatever chain bookstore filled retail space in the local mall. Without Langston, I'd have never encountered Nikki Giovanni, and without Nikki Giovanni, I might never have encountered slam, and the last twenty years of my life would have been very different.

The only reason this is not a five star book for me is because I have a hard time staying invested in this particular era of Langston's writing. Had I been shopping properly, had I been focused more on buying poetry collections I find essential, I would have bought The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes, which has all these poems, but also would have allowed me to flip around through more of his catalog.

[Streator Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As many of you know, my new year's resolution is to only read books this year that were either in my house or on my Kindle as of December 31, 2014; were books selected by my book group; or that were given to me over the year. And I have pretty much kept to that resolution.

But as the year winds down, I have realized that I haven't done much poetry reading. So I decided to give T. S. Elliot's "Four Quartets" a try (my mother gave me her copy when she moved to Chattanooga). Unfortunately, after I started reading it, I realized I have no idea what Mr. Eliot is trying to say here and I decided I would have to research it a bit before reading the poems if I was to get anything out of reading this work.

So I switched to this thin volume by Langston Hughes. Completely different story here. There was, and is, no question what these poems are about. The oppression of the negro race in the United States. Strange, though this this slim book was published almost 60 years ago (1967, though some of these poems date back to 1932), the poems seem just as relevant today as they were when they were written. And frankly, that is pretty sad.

The poems themselves are kind of like a Jackson Pollack painting. You look it (or read them) and say to yourself "Heh, I could do that!" But you know deep down inside that no, you couldn't. They look easy, but that is really part of the brilliance of the work. It's like a wide receiver stretching out to make a catch and hauls it in. Yeah, you MIGHT be able to do that once in your lifetime, but they do that again and again every weekend under pressure. A whole different thing. Sometimes simplicity is hard. And such are these poems. Simple, but hard to read. But I am glad I did.

And soon, I'll turn to Four Quartets..... ;-)

[Tai Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Langston Hughes’s “The Panther & the Lash” is a collection of poems that are rich in revelation, suffering, power and struggle. His poems are so simplistic but evoke emotion and anger about the atrocities that plagued the African-American society through history. His voice is stern yet passionate. Hughes captures the essence of what African- Americans were feeling and how to (or not) address issues abroad and within their own community. He brought a voice to those unspoken, silent but hurting individuals. This collection includes the famous piece “Dream Deferred”; a poem that poses the question, “What happens to a dream deferred?” In my own writing I attempt to not only entertain readers but enlighten them on compelling issues that are sometimes bitter but always relevant. I aim to create a powerful voice in my pieces just as strong as Hughes’s written voice.

[Maughn Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was an amazing experience to read this book, first published in 1967, the year LH died. For one thing, the poems themselves are so lean and strong, direct and angry, it's impossible not to be roused by them. For another, it's very unnerving to consider how far we've come from the world of the late 60's, when,

By what sends
the white kids
I ain't sent:
I know I can't
be President.

(from Children's Rhymes, p. 49)

... and yet how far we have NOT come from so much of the violent oppression described in this book. So many of LH's survivalist instincts and insights are right on today:

Freedom
is just frosting
On somebody else's
Cake--
And so must be
Till we
Learn how to
Bake.

(Frosting, p. 84)

[Dana Clinton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have perused this small volume of Langston Hughes poetry for the South Berwick library book club this month. He is expressive, full of legitimate anger and hope. I am not much of a poetry expert so cannot really do much commentary here, but I am happy to have read the poems, although I feel I need to read and reread for things to sink in and make sense. I remember that Jonathon Kozol, an amazing educator, was fired from the Boston Public school system for "curriculum deviation", i.e., teaching Langston Hughes. This was revelatory knowledge for me back in the early 70's; Kozol's work struck deep chords within me.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so happy to get a new copy of this book for my library! I had it for many years and then (gulp) loaned it to someone, and never got it back! This is an awesome look at some sharp, creative poems regarding the civil rights movement, particularly in the South, and a couple anti-war poems made their way into the book via 'the 60's :)

One of my favorites:
That Justice is a blind goddess,
Is a fact to which we blacks are wise.
Her bandage hides two festering sores,
That once, perhaps, were eyes.

[Shady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr Hughes' writing is just as provocative and powerful today as ever it was. Poetry that takes you to a time and place many would just as soon have us forget. It is for this very reason that these works must carry on and live and breathe the hope, despair, anger,and truth of some of the darkest days of our country's history for generations to come.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

By what sends/the white kids/I ain't sent:/I know I can't/be President. from Children's Rhymes.
a couple pages earlier is a poem about the Birmingham church bombing. i wish Hughes knew that we have a black president and that a few years ago we had as Secretary of State, a Sunday School friend of one of the little girls killed in the church bombing.

[A.J. Granger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is phenomenal! Every poem, no matter how short, has something to offer. Hughs achieves more in four lines than most poets do in five seperate poems. Reading one of his poems is like listening to a debate and after the last line, hughs just drops the mic...and everyone is silent. My first exposure to a terrific poet. I look foward to finding some of his older collections. Truly Amazing.

[Tom Romig · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writer most often associated with the Harlem Renaissance here deals with some of the prominent issues of the 1960s (and, too often, today): the continuing curse of racism, the growing impatience of African Americans, and the frustration that impels towards violence. While Langston Hughes's clean, direct, rhythmic, simple style gives the poems an immediacy that cannot be ignored.

[Age · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first edition of this collection was my introduction to my beloved Langston. I have found that his remarks on society are as poignant now as when he wrote them. As I have grown I have found ALL that he has commented on still there in society, sadly being repeated over and over.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rather enjoyed this collection of poems. They made me stop and think about all the inequities that have existed and still exist in our country and throughout the world.

Rereading, I had forgotten how internationally political his later poems became. Still good stuff.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never much for poetry, I find Langston's lyrical quality enticing, his subjects interesting, and his messages compelling. He's an old favorite of mine.

This was the first e-book I tried on Overdrive, and I wanted something where page layout mattered. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

a well-selected collection of poems, one of the few poetry collections I've read where most of the poems are good.

[Mary Elizabeth Strate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the poem 'Madrid' was cribbed by WH Auden and I loved Mr. Hughes all the more for that tidbit. Is it true?