LANGSTON HUGHES'S POETRY LANGSTON HUGHES'S POETRY ARTS AFRICAN AMERICANS AMERICAN CULTURE INTRODUCTION LANGSTON HUGHES WAS BORN IN MISSOURI IN 1902 AND LED A VARIED LIFE HE STUDIED AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN NEW YORK AND LATER AT LINCOLN UNIVERSITY IN NEBRASKA BEFORE WORKING AS A SEAMAN A NEWSPAPER CORRESPONDENT A COOK AND A BUSBOY WHILE WORKING AS A BUSBOY IN A WASHINGTON D.C HOTEL HUGHES PLACED THREE OF HIS POEMS BESIDE THE PLATE OF A DINNER GUESTS THE GUEST NOTED POET VACHEL LINDSAY RECOGNIZED HUGHES'S TALENT AND HELPED HIM GET HIS POERMS PUBLISHED THE JAZZ AND BLUES THAT HUGHES HEARD IN HARLEM STRONGLY INFLUENCED HIS POETRY HUGHES TRIED TO WRITE POEMS THAT RESEMBLED SPOKEN LANGUAGE AND WOULD BE READILY UNDERSTANDABLE TO READERS WHO HAD LITTLE EXPERIENCE WITH POETRY HE SAID THAT POETRY SHOULD BE DIRECT COMPREHENSIBLE AND THE EPITOME CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF SIMPLICITY MOTHER TO SON WELL SON I'LL TELL YOU LIFE FOR ME AIN'T BEEN NO CRYSTAL STAIR IT'S HAD TACKS IN IT AND SPLINTERS AND BOARDS TORN UP AND PLACES WITH NO CARPET ON THE FLOOR BARE BUT ALL THE TIME I'SE BEEN A CLIMBIN ON AND REACHIN LANDIN'S AND TURNIN CORNERS AND SOMETIMES GOIN IN THE DARK WHERE THERE AIN'T BEEN NO LIGHT SO BOY DON'T YOU TURN BACK DON'T YOU SET DOWN ON THE STEPS CAUSE YOU FINDS IT'S KINDER HARD DON'T YOU FALL NOW FOR I'SE STIL GOIN HONEY I'SE STILL CLIMBIN AND LIFE FOR ME AIN'T BEEN NO CRYSTAL STAIR DREAM DEFERRED WHAT HAPPENS TO A DREAM DEFERRED DOES IT DRY UP LIKE A RAISIN IN THE SUN OR FESTER LIKE A SORE AND THEN RUN DOES IT STINK LIKE ROTTEN MEAT OR CRUST AND SUGAR OVER LIKE A SYRUPY SWEET MAYBE IT JUST SAGS LIKE A HEAVY LOAD OR DOES IT JUST EXPLODE DEFERRED POSTPONED FESTER ROT DREAM DEFERRED AND MOTHER TO SON FROM COLLECTED POEMS BY LANGSTON HUGHES COPYRIGHT 1994 BY THE ESTATE OF LANGSTON HUGHES REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF HAROLD OBER ASSOCIATES INCORPORATED
