Poet. Novelist. Playwright. Activist. There wasn’t much that Langston Hughes couldn't do. Born in Joplin, Missouri on February 1, 1902, Hughes—an innovator of the jazz poetry art form—eventually made his way to New York City, where he became one of the most recognized leaders of the Harlem Renaissance. But even amongst his peers, Hughes’s work stood out as unique.
In 1973’s Modern Black Poets: A Collection of Critical Essays, critic Donald B. Gibson wrote that Hughes “differed from most of his predecessors among black poets … in that he addressed his poetry to the people, specifically to black people. During the twenties when most American poets were turning inward, writing obscure and esoteric poetry to an ever-decreasing audience of readers, Hughes was turning outward, using language and themes, attitudes and ideas familiar to anyone who had the ability simply to read.”
Here are 20 inspiring quotes from Langston Hughes.
1. On humor
“Humor is laughing at what you haven't got when you ought to have it ... what you wish in your secret heart were not funny, but it is, and you must laugh. Humor is your own unconscious therapy. Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air, and you.”
2. On the importance of dreams
“A dream deferred is a dream denied.”
3. On censorship
“We Negro writers, just by being black, have been on the blacklist all our lives. Censorship for us begins at the color line.”
4. and 5. On Freedom
“In all my life, I have never been free. I have never been able to do anything with freedom, except in the field of my writing.”
“An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose.”
Read the full article: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/91742/20-inspiring-quotes-langston-hughes
