The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes [Paperback]

Langston Hughes (Author), Arnold Rampersad (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 1995

"The ultimate book for both the dabbler and serious scholar--. [Hughes] is sumptuous and sharp, playful and sparse, grounded in an earthy music--. This book is a glorious revelation."--Boston Globe

Spanning five decades and comprising 868 poems (nearly 300 of which have never before appeared in book form), this magnificent volume is the definitive sampling of a writer who has been called the poet laureate of African America--and perhaps our greatest popular poet since Walt Whitman.  Here, for the first time, are all the poems that Langston Hughes published during his lifetime, arranged in the general order in which he wrote them and annotated by Arnold Rampersad and David Roessel.

Alongside such famous works as "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" and Montage of a Dream Deferred, The Collected Poems includes the author's lesser-known verse for children; topical poems distributed through the Associated Negro Press; and poems such as "Goodbye Christ" that were once suppressed.  Lyrical and pungent, passionate and polemical, the result is a treasure of a book, the essential collection of a poet whose words have entered our common language.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At last Hughes has gotten his first collected edition; it is overdue. The editors have attempted to collect every poem (860 in all) published by the writer in his lifetime, and have also provided a brief but informative introduction, a detailed chronology and extensive textual notes that include the original date and place of publication for each poem. In fact, this edition corrects the many errors and omissions of the standard Hughes bibliography, and the editors plan to update the text as more unpublished work surfaces. Although Hughes is best known for his poems celebrating African African life, he was also a passionately political poet who paid dearly for his communist affiliations and radical views. The chronological arrangement of the poems allows the reader to follow the course of Hughes's career-long political engagement, though probably Hughes will mainly be read for the clarity of his language, his wise humor and his insight into the human condition. BOMC selection.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Far more comprehensive than other collections of Hughes's poetry, this work was put together with the assistance of noted Hughes biographer Rampersad. [Reviewed on p. 80.]
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 736 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 1st Vintage classics ed edition (October 31, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679764089
• ISBN-13: 978-0679764083
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.8 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,020 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Poetry

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be required reading, November 17, 1999

By 

LaurenAnn (NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes (Paperback)

I purchased this book when I had to write an essay on the poems of Langston Hughes. I will refer to and enjoy this book forever. The poems of Langston Hughes are timeless and poignant; sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes uplifting. I firmly believe that some of his poems should be required reading for ALL Americans. If you're a fan of Hughes, add this book to your collection-- you'll have almost every poem he ever wrote at your fingertips. If you haven't been introduced to the illustrious Langston Hughes, you will not regret picking up this book.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Artist for all People!!!, December 13, 2004

By 

T. Kelley (houston, texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes (Hardcover)

For those who like and admire the poetic works of Langston Hughes, this is the book to purchase. This book collects all the "known" and "published" poems written by Hughes within his lifetime and at the different stages in his life. You have the so-called "race" poems that celebrate the dignity and beauty of black Americans, you have the poems of social protest such as those written during the 1930's that deal with inequality and injustice common to all regardless of race, the poems meant for children, and you even have the trite subject matter about love lost and found and springtime, nearly all written in the style of jazz and the blues that Hughes loved so much. Congrates must go to Arnold Rampersad and David Rossel for the effort in gathering these poems in their most current rendition as Hughes last wrote them. An effort was made by the editors to put the poems in the order they were written and published. A number of the poems were meant to be accompanied by jazz and blues music or read aloud in a specific way to drive home the point of the piece.

At first glance, all the poems collected in this book appear simple and straight foreward. But, Hughes was skilled at putting a lot of meaning into just a few lines of his work. An example are the poems "Cross" and "Mulatto" which tell how the mixed bloodlines of every decendent of the pure blooded African slave and European came to exist today in modern black America and how prejudice denied them the right to claim all their heritages (political correct stereotypes, labels, are doing the same today!!!). My favorite of the poems here is "Dream Variation." Carl Van Vetchen truncated some of the poem in his introduction to the the WEARY BLUES, the first book by Hughes. Langston's love for black Americans is evident throughout all his catalogue of work from essays, short stories novels, and plays as well as poetry. But this affection and the black pride he possessed did not exclude the bond of brotherhood he felt for all people regardless of race and color. This isn't to say that behind the famous smile there wasn't an angry black man. Hughes was angry at all the injustices against black Americans, but he did not let his anger consume and blind him. He bridled his anger and used it constructively, the testament of a true artist of the any people.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Complete Collection of a Master, January 10, 2001

By 

Zach Powers "wordist" (Savannah, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes (Paperback)

I've long been a fan of Hughes work, but was not aware of how much he had written until I got this collection. It is too bad that Hughes is often labeled as a "Harlen Renaissance" poet and then dismissed, because his poetry still holds meaning today for anyone willing to hear it. Hughes states his universal truths in an American voice, while at the same time exposing the flaws of American society (flaws which in many ways still exist today as much as they did in the 20's, 30's and 40's).

This is great poetry, and I still read from it again and again. Highly recommended for anyone and everyone.