The life of Langston Hughes. Volume l, 1902-1941 : I, too, sing America

521 Pages·2002·36.31 MB·English

by  Hughes

I, Too, Sing America
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THE LIFE OF
LANGSTON HUGHES
Volume I: 1902-1941
I, Too, Sing America
SECOND EDITION
Arnold Rampersad
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
20O2
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
Oxford New York
Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogota Buenos Aires
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and associated companies in
Berlin Ibadan
Copyright © 1986, 1988, 2002 by Arnold Rampersad
First published by Oxford University Press, Inc., 1986
First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 1988
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available:
ISBN 13: 978-0-19-514642-4
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
To Marvina White
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CONTENTS
1. A Kansas Boyhood 3
(1902 to 1915)
2. Outsetting Bard 23
(1915 to 1921)
3. My People 50
(1921 to 1923)
4. On the Big Sea 73
(1923 to 1924)
5. We Have Tomorrow 99
(1924 to 1926)
6. A Lion at Lincoln 125
(1926 to 1927)
7. Godmother and Langston 156
(1927 to 1930)
8. Flight and Fall 182
(1930 to 1931)
9. Starting Over 211
(1931 to 1932)
10. Good Morning, Revolution 242
(1932 to 1933)
11. Waiting on Roosevelt 276
(1933 to 1935)
12. Still Waiting on Roosevelt 306
(1935 to 1937)
vii
viii / Contents
13. Earthquake Weather 341
(1937 to 1939)
14. The Fall of a Titan 373
(1939 to 1941)
Afterword 396
Abbreviations 406
Notes 407
Acknowledgments 449
Index 455
Hang yourself, poet, in your own words. Otherwise,
you are dead.
LANGSTON HUGHES, 1964