ENG111 -- Introduction to Literature

Prof. Eileen Joy

Spring 2004

DISCUSSION QUESTION #8 (Langston Hughes's Poetry)

First Draft of Langston Hughes's poem "Bitter River" (click on images to enlarge)

In his essay, "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain," Hughes wrote that he was "ashamed . . . for the colored artist who runs from the painting of Negro faces to the paintings of sunsets after the manner of the academicians because he fears the strange un-whiteness of his own features. An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose" (Literature 1146). Comment, in any way you see fit, on how Hughes's thinking here connects with the poetry of his you've read (you might also want to read his poem "The Bitter River" above, which is not in our book).

Please respond to the question with full, complete sentences. You should write at least one typed double-spaced page in response to the prompt (but let's not get distracted by these fine points of detail--what matters to me is that you respond to this prompt with thoughtfulness and care and show me that you have something of substance to say in relation to the reading and discussions we have had in class, and what that ultimately means is: MORE is always better than less, but 1 page is the minimum). The questions are always interpretive in nature, and therefore there are NO right or wrong answers, only your opinion (an opinion, nevertheless, that's hopefully grounded in a close reading of the text as well as a close attention to background material presented in class). It wouldn't be a bad idea either to point to and/or quote specific passages from the text in order to support your observations and ideas (that will help you practice a skill that will become an absolute necessity when you are writing your critical essays).