Langston Hughes is, or was, an American poet and writer. He was born in 1902 and lived until 1967. He was a key figure in what came to be called the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. Although his essays, poems, plays, books, and other writing often centered on "insightful, colorful portrayals of black life in America from the twenties through the sixties," he "refused to differentiate between his personal experience and the common experience of black America. He wanted to tell the stories of his people without personalizing them, so the reader could step in and draw his own conclusions."
One of Hughes' most famous poems is entitled "The Negro Speaks of Rivers." It is still used in classrooms today. In a very short space, Hughes manages to bring together the images of rivers in different parts of the world and bring to light much of the experience of people of African heritage over the past several thousand years. This tour highlights Langston Hughes' famous poem and shows some of the places and history around it. (quoted passages from The Academy of American Poets website at http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=84)
