Poets of the Harlem Renaissance
David Glenn
HUM112

It was during the 1920’s and 30’s in which a new movement was taking place in the United States. A movement that had kindled a brand new kind of cultural identity for Black Americans. An almost spiritual “coming of age” (Foner & Garraty, 1991), the Harlem Renaissance was a time in which the African American communities of the United States began making strides in literary, artistic, and intellectual achievement. While not necessarily contained to the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, Harlem certainly attracted the largest concentration of this particular intellect and served as the epicenter of this historic movement. Some of the most famous writers in American history emerged from this cultural awakening and include but are not limited to the talents of Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen. Possibly the most recognizable name of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes was a poet and writer who through several publications, became “one of the foremost interpreters to the world of the black experience in the United States” (Hutchinson, 2014). His parents had separated shortly after his birth and was raised mostly by his grandmother. Unfortunately, she had passed while Langston was in his early teens and he had been left with the choice of living with his mother, which is when he first began to cultivate his writing talent. His work during this era was primarily influenced by his life within the now historic New York City neighborhood. Like many other writers at the time, Hughes’ work contained a very “strong sense of racial pride” (America’s Library, no date). Through his works including several poems, books and plays, Hughes promoted racial equality, spoke out against racism, and had celebrated the humor and spirituality of African American culture. Following his death, his Harlem home had been declared a city landmark and had even changed the name of East 127th street, where he made his residence, to Langston Hughes Place. I will share with you one of my favorite pieces by Langston Hughes and what I feel is a fantastic showing of his efforts to influence others to celebrate black culture as he believe it should be viewed as importantly as white culture. The piece, titled Let America be America Again, certainly advocates those beliefs. My personal favorite quote from the poem reads “O, let my land be a land where Liberty/ Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath/ But opportunity is real, and life is free/ Equality is in the air we breathe/ There’s never been equality for me/Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free” (Hughes, 1938). Nearly every American from birth is taught that America is the land of the free, the land of opportunity. Here, we see that this was not the reality for every American citizens. For some, it was simply a dream and a goal to be reached.
Also, this piece is a great example of what is known as double consciousness. The term was coined by W.E.B. DuBois (1903) to describe someone whose identity is composed of several different cultures and is constantly trying to reconcile with those cultures. In this particular case, the battle between the ideals that were instilled as a result of the American culture of the time and the attempt to identify with their original African culture.
Another important, but very different figure during the renaissance was Countee Cullen. Raised and educated in a predominantly in a white neighborhood, not all of his work, more specifically his second volume Copper Sun, gave the subject of race the amount of attention that his earlier work and other writers had. Therefore, some of Cullen’s work had been met with controversy among the black community (Poets Org). He was certainly different from other poets of the era in the sense that he did not go through many of the personal experiences had that fueled the popular work of these other artists. This however did not affect his creative lyricism that cultivated such great work.
My personal favorite piece by Cullen is featured in his first volume Color, titled Atlantic City Waiter. In the poem, the main subject is portrayed as a very proud and graceful person that could have only been the result of adapting to living in the jungle for several years. People stop and stare at him as if he were simply an exhibit within a zoo; as if he were a savage, tamed in order to perform tricks for the eager crowd. Much like his other work, Cullen seems to be in conflict with how he views himself and the way that others portray him which yet again, brings about the principle of double consciousness.
All of this creativity has inspired me to write my own poem based on the ideas of cultural pride and the feelings of alienation experienced by these minorities that produced the famous work of the Renaissance. As someone who has come from an immigrant family, I can certainly identify fairly well with these described themes. I call this piece “An American Serviceman”. “Pride/ Pride is a word that in my opinion is all too often used/ Over and over again, you could even say it’s abused/ As a nation, we take pride in our/ Victors of battle, we have earned the right to brag/ Brave men and brave women have endured great plights/ For us to have things for granted which we call rights/ For reasons such as this, America is the land of opportunity/ Yet because of my appearance, I become the victim of scrutiny/ It is not my name or my personality that you seek/ Upon meeting, you ask me what language do i speak/ I respond English, I am American you see/ I proudly served my country’s Navy, I spent time at sea/ I am offended for I am American as you/ I would stand beside you in battle, would you stand by me too?/
References
America’s Library (no date). Langston Hughes. Retrieved from http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/hughes/aa_hughes_subj.html
Foner, E. & Garraty, J. (1991). Harlem Renaissance. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/harlem-renaissance
Hutchinson, G. (2014). Harlem Renaissance Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/255397/Harlem-Renaissance
Hughes, L. (1938). Let America be America Again. Esquire Magazine