Best Selling Books by Langston Hughes

Nearing the end of a distinguished literary career that spanned nearly fifty years, Langston Hughes took on the daunting task of writing the official history of the national Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Beginning with the social, political, and economic contexts that led to the founding of the NAACP in 1909 and ending with a summary of its targeted goals for 1963, Hughes attempted to write a history that would be comprehensive in scope and singular in its purpose of highlighting the ways in which the Association had a direct and positive influence on racial justice in the United States. Focusing on the individuals who had the greatest impact on the NAACP and the issues with which the organization was most concerned in its first fifty years of existence, Hughes produced the widely acclaimed Fight for Freedom, striking an exceptional balance between biography and cultural history. Long before the publication of Fight for Freedom, Hughes had begun writing nonfictional prose about these same issues as a regular columnist and essayist for the nation''s most influential African American publications, including the Chicago Defender and Crisis. A selection of these popular columns and other essays & mdash;which reveal the extent to which Hughes''s unique, varied, and sometimes Blues- tinged narrative voice shifted in tone over the course of his extensive career & mdash;is included in this volume. Hughes intersperses historical facts with compelling anecdotes that often frame subtly ironic commentaries on various themes. The result is history that provides a lens through which to view Hughes''s attitudes in the early 1960s toward the ways the NAACP addressed the vital social, cultural, political, and economic issues central to its agenda. Fight for Freedom and Other Writings on Civil Rights makes a unique contribution to the oeuvre of an African American writer whose full significance to American literature, history, and culture will continue to be defined well into the twenty-first century.

Most of these works, rediscovered by Faith Berry as she researched her biography of Hughes, have never been collected in book form. Written mainly when Hughes was a young man and representing some of his most incisive and deeply-felt work, these poems, stories and articles were originally published in small magazines between 1925 and 1957.

Discover the power and joy of poetry in this simple, modern introduction to Langston Hughes, featuring an ode to spring and long-awaited new beginnings In this illustrated adaptation of a beloved Langston Hughes poem, a child delights as the world around him awakens from winter and comes to life with the long-awaited arrival of spring and new beginnings of all kinds.

The work of Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes is a celebration of the triumphant creative spirit in African-American life. From the welding of their friendship in 1925 until Hughes''s death in 1967, this volume gathers the best of the forty-two years of correspondence between them. The first letters, written in the midst of the Harlem Renaissance, witness the struggle of two young writers searching for a voice and an identity. By 1941, both Bontemps and Hughes had achieved a certain degree of success, and had become increasingly involved in racial and social struggles. Finally, in the period between 1959 and 1967, we see them react to the civil rights movement. This fascinating collection makes an invaluable contribution to the understanding of twentieth century American culture and one of its most vital components, the African-American heritage which these two correspondents did so much to create. --From book cover.

"An illustrated picture book of Langston Hughes''s classic 1926 poem about a Black boy listening to a relative''s shadow-crossed stories of slavery honors a culture''s history keepers"--

"Reprinted 1976 by special arrangement"--T.p. verso.

For over forty years, until his death in 1967, Langston Hughes captured in his poetry the lives of black people in the USA. This edition is Hughes''s own selection of his work, and was first published in 1959. It includes all of his best known poems including ''The Negro Speaks of Rivers'', ''The Weary Blues'', ''Song for Billie Holiday'', ''Black Maria'', ''Magnolia Flowers'', ''Lunch in a Jim Crow Car'' and ''Montage of a Dream Deferred''. A key figure in the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes is now seen as one of the great chroniclers of black American experience - and one of the great artists of the twentieth century.

Winner of the Coretta Scott King illustrator award, I, Too, Am America blends the poetic wisdom of Langston Hughes with visionary illustrations from Bryan Collier in this inspirational picture book that carries the promise of equality. I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Langston Hughes was a courageous voice of his time, and his authentic call for equality still rings true today. Beautiful paintings from Barack Obama illustrator Bryan Collier accompany and reinvent the celebrated lines of the poem "I, Too," creating a breathtaking reminder to all Americans that we are united despite our differences. This picture book of Langston Hughes’s celebrated poem, "I, Too, Am America," is also a Common Core Text Exemplar for Poetry.

Five plays representing Hughes'' dramatic writing over a period of forty years.

An introduction to jazz music by one of our finest writers. Langston Hughes, celebrated poet and longtime jazz enthusiast, wrote The First Book of Jazz as a homage to the music that inspired him. The roll of African drums, the dancing quadrilles of old New Orleans, the work songs of the river ports, the field shanties of the cotton plantations, the spirituals, the blues, the off-beats of ragtime -- in a history as exciting as jazz rhythms, Hughes describes how each of these played a part in the extraordinary history of jazz.

Langston Hughes''s most beloved character comes back to life in this extraordinary collection Langston Hughes is best known as a poet, but he was also a prolific writer of theater, autobiography, and fiction. None of his creations won the hearts and minds of his readers as did Jesse B. Semple, better known as "Simple." Simple speaks as an Everyman for African Americans in Uncle Sam''s America. With great wit, he expounds on topics as varied as women, Gospel music, and sports heroes--but always keeps one foot planted in the realm of politics and race. In recent years, readers have been able to appreciate Simple''s situational humor as well as his poignant questions about social injustice in The Best of Simple and The Return of Simple. Now they can, once again, enjoy the last of Hughes''s original Simple books.

“Dream Variation,” one of Langston Hughes''s most celebrated poems, about the dream of a world free of discrimination and racial prejudice, is now a picture book stunningly illustrated by Daniel Miyares, the acclaimed creator of Float. To fling my arms wide In some place of the sun, To whirl and to dance Till the white day is done…. Langston Hughes''s inspiring and timeless message of pride, joy, and the dream of a better life is brilliantly and beautifully interpreted in Daniel Miyares''s gorgeous artwork. Follow one African-American boy through the course of his day as the harsh reality of segregation and racial prejudice comes into vivid focus. But the boy dreams of a different life—one full of freedom, hope, and wild possibility, where he can fling his arms wide in the face of the sun. Hughes''s powerful vision, brought joyously to life by Daniel Miyares, is as relevant—and necessary—today as when it was first written.

This volume brings together a collection of texts translated by Langston Hughes. It contains his translations of work by the Spanish poet/playwright Federico Garcia Lorca, Afro-Cuban poet Nicolas Guillen and Haitian writer Jacques Roumain.

A wry and humorous soul portrait of what it is like to grow up black in America.

Told through the eyes of the grandmotherly Sister Mary Bradley, this is a heartwarming description of life in Harlem.

"My little dark baby, / My little earth-thing, / My little love-one, / What shall I sing / For your lullaby?" With a few simple words as smooth as a song, the poet Langston Hughes celebrates the love between an African American mother and her baby. The award-winning illustrator Sean Qualls''s painted and collaged artwork captures universally powerful maternal moments with tenderness and whimsy. In the end, readers will find a rare photo of baby Hughes and his mother, a biographical note, further reading, and the complete lullaby. Like little love-ones, this beautiful book is a treasure.

"The Weary Blues" is Langston Hughes'' first collection of poems. His poetry portrays the lives of the working-class blacks in America, lives he portrays as full of struggle, joy, laughter, and music. Permeating his work is pride in the African-American identity and its diverse culture. He confronted racial stereotypes, protested social conditions, and expanded African America''s image of itself; a "people''s poet" who sought to reeducate both audience and artist by lifting the theory of the black aesthetic into reality.

When he and his parents move to the quiet Mexican town of Taxco, Kenny makes friends with Juanito Perez, and the two share many adventures with Juanito''s special papier-mache toy, Tito.

First published in 1932, this book describes the rustic life that existed in Haiti during the 1930s. Written with simplicity, realism and poetic charm the reader follows the experiences and adventures of two children moving from their home in the hills to a town by the sea. BandW woodcut illus.

Twenty-six short poems introduce animals for each letter of the alphabet, from Ape to Zebra.

The only collaboration between Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, The Mule-Bone is a three-act comedy depicting the romantic rivalry between two lifelong friends, Jim Weston and Dave Carter, as they both try to woo the same woman, Daisy Taylor. Set in the town of Eatonville, Florida (Zora Neale Hurston’s hometown and the setting of her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God), the play humorously explores the interpersonal and religious conflicts in an early 20th-century African-American community while incorporating themes from folklore. Hughes and Hurston’s collaboration on The Mule-Bone was a troubled one, since it ended in an authorship dispute between the two, and the play was never properly finished. Hughes even noted on his personal copy, “This play was never done because the authors fell out.” The play was not produced until 1991, over sixty years after it was written, when it was performed at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre to lukewarm reviews. This Standard Ebooks edition is based on the manuscript deposited by Zora Neale Hurston with the United States Copyright Office in 1931, the only version of The Mule-Bone known to be out of copyright. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.

Since his death in 1967, Langston Hughes''s reputation has continued to grow. He is now widely regarded as one of the foremost poets of his time and one of the most eloquent and beloved spokesmen of his people. Remembered by many as a fighter for the poor and downtrodden, Hughes in his early work was outspoken, but he tempered his views later, and some of the early social protest writings receded into the shadows. Faith Berry rediscovered the material presented in "Good Morning Revolution". -- From publisher''s description.

A selection of the author''s favorite stories chosen from three of his books: "Simple Speaks his Mind," "Simple Takes a Wife," and "Simple Stakes a Claim."

A teenager tries to steal the purse of Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones and is rebuked in a surprising fashion.

Mule Bone is the only collaboration between Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes, two stars of the Harlem Renaissance, and it holds an unparalleled place in the annals of African-American theater. Set in Eatonville, Florida--Hurston''s hometown and the inspiration for much of her fiction--this energetic and often farcical play centers on Jim and Dave, a two-man song-and-dance team, and Daisy, the woman who comes between them. Overcome by jealousy, Jim hits Dave with a mule bone and hilarity follows chaos as the town splits into two factions: the Methodists, who want to pardon Jim; and the Baptists, who wish to banish him for his crime. Included in this edition is the fascinating account of the Mule Bone copyright dispute between Hurston and Hughes that ended their friendship and prevented the play from being performed until its debut production at the Lincoln Center Theater in New York City in 1991--sixty years after it was written. Also included is "The Bone of Contention," Hurston''s short story on which the play was based; personal and often heated correspondence between the authors; and critical essays that illuminate the play and the dazzling period that came to be known as the Harlem Renaissance.

The great African-American poet Langston Hughes penned poem after poem about the majesty of the sea, and the great African-American artist Ashley Bryan, who s spent more than half his life on a small island, is as drawn to the sea as much as he draws the sea. Their talents combine in this windswept collection of illustrated poems from The Negro Speaks of Rivers to Seascape, from Sea Calm to Sea Charm that celebrates all things oceanic.