Mapping a Road of Inspiration
This group will read about Langston Hughes' experiences in other countries.
1) When you finish, locate and mark each country with a marker (star, circle, etc).
2) Write a brief description by the marker of how each country influenced him.
3) On posters, take copies of the poems that he wrote and display them in a creative way that shows the influence that each country had on Mr. Hughes.
You will be explaining the relevance of his travels in relation to each poem, to the entire class.
After Langston dropped out of Columbia University, he worked on a freighter that sailed for Africa. While there he was deeply concerned about the African tribes' lack of political and economical freedom. He met a mulatto child who was ignored by the Africans because his one of his parents was white and the other was black. The child asked him if it was true that American people talked to mulattos. This encounter was an inspiration for his play, "Mulatto."
His next job was on a freighter that docked in France. He stayed and worked at a night club that featured southern cooking and jazz performers. Night after night, he listened to the rhythms of the bands and used them in his poetry.
Moving on to Italy, Langston was robbed on a train. Without any money, he desperately longed to return to the United States. He tried to return to the U. S. A. on a freighter, but was denied because he was black. In this depressed state of mind he wrote, "I, Too, Sing America." Eventually he found an all black ship willing to take him to the United States.
Hughes next trip lead him to Cuba and Haiti. He was looking for someone to help him write a folk opera (a singing play). He met some Cuban poets who were also using their native rhythms in their poetry. He decided to use some Latin music in his next musical.
Because of his interest in Communism, Hughes gladly accepted and offers to visit the Soviet Union and help write a documentary. He was impressed by the lack of racism and wrote the poem "One More 'S' in the U. S. A." This trip increased his interest in the U. S. Communist party. Because of his experiences in other countries, Hughes became a cultural emissary to Europe and Africa for the U.S. State Department from 1960 to 1963. A cultural emissary is one who represents the United States in other countries.