Langston Hughes: The NCTE Jumpoff

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

The NCTE Jumpoff

I think I would have prefered to read the NCTE and the collected poems of Langston Hughes before Not Without Laughter, because I did not have the background to fully get into a plotless story about another time and a region of the country which I am not to steeped in academically. Mardi Gras and Katrina I get, but I just needed a plot, I needed an ending, the begining was amazing, and parts were great but as a whole I was torn. The first part of the NCTE guide which is written by a fan of Hughes, is very insightful as far as telling us how the works of Hughes can inspire our students to BE ALL THEY CAN BE. I wanted to learn about Hughes and get exposure to his work, however, Not Without Laughter was not the text I thought it would be. That's what happens when we have expectations I guess. The NCTE book is very insightful and does put the pieces together as far as how this is pertinant to teaching. Though I question the youth of today, in Buffalo, being able to grasp the time period represented, the historical references, the dialect, and lack of plot. I don't know if we are supposed to just read the section on teaching Not wihtout laughter but I started from the begining and I find I like learning about Hughes and Hughes' poetry much, much more than Not Withouth Laughter.

2 comments:

Ms. Behr said...: I agree with you that Not Without Laughter is not the first thing from Hughes I would have my students read. I agree with you that his poetry is so much stronger than this piece of prose, but I do have a new found appreciation for the book after reading NCTE too!; March 20, 2008 at 2:02 PM
Ms.Mongan said...: Yes, this would be difficult for even high school students. I realized that his prose creates as his poetry does.It leads us somewhere,this book did not reveal it until Sandy was older.It would have been great if it started as a flashback.; March 25, 2008 at 4:23 PM

Post a Comment

Hughes' poem on Booker T.

Langston Hughes (1902-1967), known for his lyric poetry, often wrote insightful commentaries about African-American culture and race relations in the United States. In this 1941 poem he makes a case for the vindication of educator Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), the former slave and founder of Tuskegee Institute (1881) and the National Negro Business League (1900) who was harshly criticized by many people for emphasizing vocational education as the prerequisite for the political empowerment of black people. In his poem, Hughes stresses the fact that Washington wanted to train the head, the heart, and the hand. He focuses on Washington's practicality and explains the educator's strategy with the statement,
"Sometimes he had compromise in his talk--for a man must crawl before he can walkand in Alabama in '85a joker was luckyto be alive.

This simple poem says so much.I thought Booker T.Washington was a genius in his time.He had foresight that is desperately needed in today's world.Unfortunately, there was a great division of people on Booker's ideals. I think today we are seeing the results of what Booker T. was trying to prevent. Patty

"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.