Hip Hip Hooray to Castillo ensemble member Mike Klein! In the comments section, he posted a link to Langston Hughes reading his poems with musical accompaniment by the Charles Mingus jazz group. The following website has each poem as an individual file (as well as the lyrics translated into Spanish!):
http://www.geocities.com/xxxjorgexxx/hughes1.htm
You need RealPlayer in order to listen to the files.
One of the poems on the recording is called "Notes on the Commercial Theatre." It's about how mainstream commerical theater and film have consistently appropriated black cultural forms for their own ends. I never knew this poem before, but it's powerful and it serves as a calling card for what we're trying to do:
"Notes on the Commercial Theatre" by Langston Hughes
You've taken my blues and gone—
You sing'em on Broadway
And you sing'em in Hollywood Bowl,
And you mixed'em up with symphonies
And you fixed 'em
So they don't sound like me.
Yep, you done taken my blues and gone.
You also took my spirituals and gone.
You put me in Macbeth and Carmen Jones
And all kinds of Swing Mikados
And in everything but what's about me—
But someday somebody'll
Stand up and talk about me,
And write about me—
Black and beautiful—
And sing about me,
And put on plays about me!
I reckon it'll be
Me myself!
Yes, it'll be me.
Showing posts with label Hughes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hughes. Show all posts
January 15, 2007
January 11, 2007
langston's legacy
Last night we realized that our two poets had a lot in common: Hughes and Ginsberg were both gay, both affiliated with the Communist movement, and both attended Columbia University. Unfortunately, though, I haven't been able to find as many exciting Web resources about Langston Hughes as about Ginsberg.
We did learn from Dan that Hughes' great-grandfather (and namesake) John Mercer Langston was the first black man elected to public office in the United States (and that was even before the Civil War). That certainly gave young Langston Hughes a big legacy to live up to. That got me thinking about how comparatively few African-Americans have been elected to major public office, even today. Is that changing? This year, Deval Patrick was elected governor of Massachusetts, but it's hard to believe that he is only the second black governor in American history. Barack Obama is only the third black U.S. Senator elected since the end of Reconstruction. Some people think he may end up as the Democratic candidate for President in 2008. Will that change things?
Has anyone else found any good Langston Hughes resources? If so, send us the links!
We did learn from Dan that Hughes' great-grandfather (and namesake) John Mercer Langston was the first black man elected to public office in the United States (and that was even before the Civil War). That certainly gave young Langston Hughes a big legacy to live up to. That got me thinking about how comparatively few African-Americans have been elected to major public office, even today. Is that changing? This year, Deval Patrick was elected governor of Massachusetts, but it's hard to believe that he is only the second black governor in American history. Barack Obama is only the third black U.S. Senator elected since the end of Reconstruction. Some people think he may end up as the Democratic candidate for President in 2008. Will that change things?
Has anyone else found any good Langston Hughes resources? If so, send us the links!
December 29, 2006
points of origin
Every conversation has to start somewhere, and so does ours. We will begin by responding to two American poets, Langston Hughes and Allen Ginsberg, who have both addressed America in their work. The two poems can be found here and here.
Even though we're not setting out to "say" anything specific about America (at least not yet), there are still certain consequences that result from every choice we make in this process. We're starting out with two poets who, at least early in their careers, were not considered part of the "mainstream" of American literature. Their respective addresses to America come from what might have been called at the time the "margins" of American culture.
Does anyone else have any suggestions about where else we might have started? Other poets or writers (or non-writers) who spoke with or interrogated America?
Even though we're not setting out to "say" anything specific about America (at least not yet), there are still certain consequences that result from every choice we make in this process. We're starting out with two poets who, at least early in their careers, were not considered part of the "mainstream" of American literature. Their respective addresses to America come from what might have been called at the time the "margins" of American culture.
Does anyone else have any suggestions about where else we might have started? Other poets or writers (or non-writers) who spoke with or interrogated America?
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