I Don't Get It...

     Alright, well I'd say it's about time I start this thing. For starter's, I've got a confession to make. I really don't understand what the big deal about Langston Hughes is. I thought his poems would be really enthralling for all the praise he gets. He's one of the most famous poets of the 20th century, but I just don't get it. Most of his poems are too sing songy, and the ones that aren't are still, just bad, to put it simply. Just look at his poem, "Baby"

Albert!
Hey, Albert!
Don't play in dat road.
You see dem trucks
A goin' by.
One run ovah you
An' you die.
Albert, don't you play in dat road.

Excuse me, but what the hell? Since when is that considered good poetry? It doesn't inspire any feeling in me besides perplexity. Honestly, this is what I would write if I was tasked with portraying an extremely racist view of a black mother.

 Who I think wrote this poem

      Look at the poor English. I thought poets were supposed to have a grasp on language so strong that they could show a reader a scene that causes them to think and feel. I've read most of the poems in this collection, and I have yet to find one that accomplishes either of those tasks.
     Now, don't get me wrong. I understand that Hughes was writing for an audience of his peers. He was a black man writing for a black audience. Maybe my Anglo-Saxon genes inhibit me from understanding or taking anything away from a Langston Hughes poem. In any case, I have to write five more blog posts about the man, so I'll have plenty of time to figure it out. My plan is to take different elements of Hughes' poetry and strip them down by comparing them to other poets and writers whose work I actually do understand. By doing this, hopefully I'll be able to say definitively whether Langston Hughes is actually a good poet, or if my first impression is correct.