Dove Poetry cont.

Dove's Influence: Langston Hughes

Biography
Hughes is particularly known for his insightful, colorful portrayals of black life in America from the twenties through the sixties. He wrote novels, short stories and plays, as well as poetry, and is also known for his engagement with the world of jazz and the influence it had on his writing. His life and work were enormously important in shaping the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Unlike other black poets of the period, he refused to seperate his personal experience and the common experience of black America. He wanted to tell the stories of his people in ways that reflected their actual culture, including both their suffering and their love of music, laughter, and language itself.

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83

Poems

A Theme for English B
by Langston Hughes

The instructor said,

      Go home and write

      a page tonight.

      And let that page come out of you—

      Then, it will be true.

I wonder if it’s that simple?

I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem.   

I went to school there, then Durham, then here   

to this college on the hill above Harlem.   

I am the only colored student in my class.   

The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem,   

through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas,   

Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y,   

the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator   

up to my room, sit down, and write this page:

It’s not easy to know what is true for you or me   

at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I’m what

I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you.

hear you, hear me—we two—you, me, talk on this page.   

(I hear New York, too.) Me—who?

Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.   

I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.   

I like a pipe for a Christmas present,

or records—Bessie, bop, or Bach.

I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like

the same things other folks like who are other races.   

So will my page be colored that I write?   

Being me, it will not be white.

But it will be

a part of you, instructor.

You are white—

yet a part of me, as I am a part of you.

That’s American.

Sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be a part of me.   

Nor do I often want to be a part of you.

But we are, that’s true!

As I learn from you,

I guess you learn from me—

although you’re older—and white—

and somewhat more free.

This is my page for English B.

 

50-50

By Langston Hughes

 

I’m all alone in this world, she said,   

Ain’t got nobody to share my bed,   

Ain’t got nobody to hold my hand—

The truth of the matter’s

I ain’t got no man.

Big Boy opened his mouth and said,   

Trouble with you is

You ain’t got no head!

If you had a head and used your mind   

You could have me with you

All the time.

She answered, Babe, what must I do?

He said, Share your bed—

And your money, too.

 

Connection

Dove was inspired by Hughes' incorporation of reality into his poetry during times of black pride. The first poem displays the loneliness young black students felt in mostly white colleges and universities around the country. It was hard for them to pursue educational careers because they didn't have too many leaders setting that example and when in the colleges, white professors had a difficult time teaching them because they thought they were so different. Hughes does a wonderful job crafting a poem that incorporates all these emotions and fears. The second poem "50-50" discusses a common fear of loneliness black women had during the Harlem Renaissance which is still relevant today. In modern times, women embrace independence and perceive it as a goal, while in the 1930s, it was seen as loneliness and undesirable because they weren’t valued unless they had a male companion. This is a brutally honest topic, but also inspiring because it is appropriately addressed.

Poems with topics regarding race, gender, and social issues are inspiring to Dove because it enables her to build off of the poets before her. Dove and Hughes write about issues within the black community but use their education and creativity to do so. The fact that Dove is one of the most profound black female poets is because of previous black poets like Hughes.