This month, our book club read The Dream Keeper and other poems written by Langston Hughes. Here are some thoughts about Hughes from our kids.Adam wrote about Langston Hughes' life: "Langston Hughes was born in 1902. He died in 1967. His father left to live in Mexico because he wanted to be a lawyer and no black men were allowed to be lawyers in the United States until years later. He left baby Langston and his wife. Langston and his mother went to live in Mexico and that’s when there was an earthquake, after that they went back to the United States and lived in Kansas so that his mother could get a job. When Langston got older he moved all over the place and traveled and wrote poems for fun. His father called him up and wanted Langston to come back to Mexico to work with him, because then he could pay for college. Langston decided he didn’t like it with his father in Mexico. He traveled to other places in the world like Africa, Italy, Australia, and France. Then he moved to Harlem and became a famous poet from then on. He was the first black man to have his poetry published. He was also the first writer to use the blues form in poetry."
Madison wrote: "My favorite poem out of the book is Death of an Old Seaman. To quote 'We buried him high on the windy hill, but his soul went out to sea. I know, for I heard, when all was still, His sea-soul say to me: put no tombstone at my head, for here I do not make my bed. Strew no flowers on my grave, I've gone back to the wind and wave. Do not, do not weep for me, for I am happy with my sea.'
I believe Langston Hughes is saying that souls are meant to be free and that it influenced both black and white Americans. Poetry, Jazz and the Blues have something in common as they can be sad/weary at one moment and then upbeat at another.......they can be anything you want it to be!"
Gunther said, " I think that Langston Hughes may have written the poem The Negro to show that he felt part of a heritage that has been around forever. Lots of times they have been slaves and had to do the dirty work. Maybe he was thinking that white people might read it and understand how much black people have done. I also think he was saying he felt connected to Africa and America.
This poem might have given hope to African Americans because if they went through all that was described in the poem, they could probably get through their troubles now. Also, it could have been a reminder of what their ancestors have gone through.
This poem may have made White Americans simply understand what black people had done and been through as a group of people."
