If you've been following my daily Inspirational Love Notes messages, here on my blog or on my Facebook page, you are well aware by now that February is my favorite month of the year for several reason. The main two reasons being it is my birthday month and the month Love. However, another reason, in addition to those two very good reasons for me to be excited about this month, is that February is also Black History Month.
So, as a poet who is passionate about inspiring others through my gift or creative writing, with hopes to some day be among the great names in the Academy of American Poets who have made a highly influential mark upon the world through their poetry and other body or works. I found it appropriate to celebrate black history month by honoring some of the most influential poets in black history every Sunday throughout the month of February.
With that said, the first pioneer poet in black history I'd like to shine my Love Light Spot Light on is the late, great, Langston Hughes. Born, James Mercer Langston Hughes on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri, he is famously known to the world as Langston Hughes, which is his mother's maiden name and his father's last name. He was raised by his maternal grandmother, following the divorce of his parents, until the age of thirteen. He then moved to Lincoln, Illinois to live with his mother and her new husband where he also first began writing poetry.
Langston Hughes' most notable contribution to black history is his influence, through his poetry, as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance, a movement during the 1920's known at the time as the New Negro Movement. Primarily influenced by other great American poets as, Walt Whitman, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, and Carl Sandburg, Langston Hughes was also well known for his unique style of creative expression that conveyed his insightful and colorful portrayal of black life in America during the Harlem Renaissance period. He is also noted as being one of the inventors of a unique style of poetry called, Jazz Poetry.
On May 22, 1967, Langston Hughes died, in New York City, due to complication from prostate cancer. In honor of his memory, his residence on East 127th Street in Harlem, New York has been given landmark status by the New York City Preservation Commission. Additionally, East 127th Street has been renamed, "Langston Hughes Place", by the city of New York.
During my research I found that most of his poems were short yet profound. I also noticed that he wrote several poems on the topic of not giving up on your dreams. If you're interested in learning more about Langston Hughes or reading some of his poems you can visit the websites I've listed at the end of this article. In the mean, I'd like to close with one of my favorites by him on the topic of dreams.
Dreams
By Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Langston Hughes: A Prominent, Prolific, Pioneer Poet in Black History.
Until next time....I surround you in Love & Light! ~ Anna "MsPoet" Hendricks
For more of my Inspirational Love Notes messages and poems I invite you to visit my archives for this blog. You may also follow me on Facebook by visiting my Inspirational Love Notes fan page at: https://www.facebook.com/InspirationalLoveNotes and check Like.
A One Love Production
By Anna M. Hendricks
Copyright 2015
