A Cultural Revolution

In the 1920s, the New York City neighbor- hood of Harlem became the artistic home of black America.

The Harlem Renaissance was a flowering of African American talent in: Literature Arts Theatre Music

A Celebration of African American Life 1 st time taken seriously by culture Artists celebrated their culture and exalted their heritage Writers did NOT share a style Shared urgent need to document the experiences of their people

The Center of the World After WWI faced grave disappointments Racism barred path to American Dream Great Migration—since 1900 many moved from rural South to industrial North Harlem became a meeting ground for writers, musicians, performers, & thinkers

Before the Renaissance, many African American writers sought to emulate whites. In contrast, Renaissance writers celebrated their racial identity and strove to create, as Langston Hughes put it, “an expression of our individual dark-skinned selves.”

An Outpouring of Expression From early 1920’s to mid 1930’s, sixteen African American writers published 50+ volumes of poetry and fiction Foundations of Jazz established Langston Hughes, most influential writer—combined rhythms of jazz and blues with stories of Harlem life & captured the struggles of “workers, roustabouts, & singers, & job-hunters

A Powerful Legacy Some debate the importance of this movement, but most agree that it opened doors for the acceptance of art and writing by African Americans.

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes Not born in Harlem and lived a large part of his life elsewhere Born in Missouri Raised in Kansas, Illinois, and Ohio Wrote poetry, plays, fiction, screenplays, and autobiographical sketches Most famous for poetry

Expressed pride in his heritage and voiced displeasure with the oppression he witnessed Experimented with a variety of forms and techniques in his poetry Often tried to recreate the rhythms of jazz Langston Hughes

The Negro Speaks of Rivers Background: “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” was Langston Hughes’s first great poem. Hughes is said to have written it when he was a senior in high school, although it was published several years later. Hughes’s poetry was influenced by Carl Sandburg and by Walt Whitman, whom he considered to be the greatest American poets. Like Whitman’s “Song of Myself,” “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” uses the first-person point of view to express the experience and identity of an entire community. Turn to page 902.

The Negro Speaks of Rivers I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset. I've known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Analysis  What is the tone? How do you know?  What imagery/word choice sticks out to you? Why?  What poetic/literary devices are present? Do they enhance the poem?  Who is the speaker (or narrator) of the poem? What is the form (rhyme scheme, syllable structure, meter)?  What genre is the poem (epic poem, ballad, etc.)?  What is the historical context of the poem?  What is the theme?

The Negro Speaks of Rivers Speaker: the voice of the poem African-American speaking of the experiences of his race Message about the Negro race: The African race has been around for a long time and as a people has experienced a great deal.

The Negro Speaks of Rivers Accomplishments and Experiences: Links these to rivers: Euphrates – bathed here at the beginning of the world – we’ve been here since the beginning of time Congo – built a hut – shows homeland Nile – built pyramids – shows great accomplishments Mississippi – saw Abe Lincoln – shows the experience of slavery and the joy of freedom

The Negro Speaks of Rivers Theme – “My soul has grown deep like the rivers.” All of these experiences have caused the speakers soul to deepen, just as a river deepens over time – implies that African Americans have roots that extend back to the earliest civilizations.