LINKS YAY

I like to think I'm in touch with me readers. And if I know my readers, the one thing they'd love to read more than anything is a linkup blog. Fun, right? I know, but don't get too excited yet. I haven't even started.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes
There's a link to my buddy, Langston's wikipedia page. You can learn all about him and his snazzy poetry from here.

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83
Here's his page on poets.org with more information about him, and also some of his poems.

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/
This is a good website for finding all kinds of poetry. If you get tired of reading Langston's poems, you can find poems by Bobby Frost, Billy Collins, and many others on this site.

http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets_african_american.html
Here's a page listing famous black poets other than Hayes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_Age
Wikipedia article about the jazz age, the movement which inspired Hughes' tone in most of his poems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem_Renaissance
Information about the Harlem Renaissance, in which Langston played a pivotal part.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa0WNP3Zwwo
Speaking of Harlem, here's a video of U2 performing, "Angel of Harlem." This is important because one, I like U2, and 2, it's about Harlem; therefore about Langston Hughes. Yay for facts.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/3b1Fiy/www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5hiVmvcCaU/
This is a really cool video rendering of the poem, "A Dream Deferred."

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1UuZPH/beinecke.library.yale.edu/langstonhughes/web.html/
I thought this was a cool little layout relating to Langston Hughes.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1c0BDU/www.dramainnature.com/quote_by_langston_hughes_.htm/
An interesting picture with one of Langston's better lines, in my opinion.

http://www.seattle.gov/parks/centers/langston.htm
The page for the beautiful Langston Hughes performing arts center.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/36HsyS/www.famouspoetsandpoems.com/top_poems.html/
Here's a list of the top 50 poems according to poemsandpoets.com. Langston got on there at number eight.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1cJJlH/www.brightmoments.com/blackhistory/
How much do you know about African American history? I bet not as much as Langston did. Take the quiz and find out!

 http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1lnNKE/wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/wedding-reception-planning/articles/wedding-toast-tips-30-inspiring-quotes.aspx/
There's a quote by Langston Hughes on here, and other than that, I just thought it was a neat list.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1kKap9/www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyqwvC5s4n8/
And the best is saved for last. This video is perfect to relate to what I have talked about in my previous posts. I mentioned "the weary blues" before, and here it is with musical accompaniment. Great video.

More Elements of Poetry

     In my previous post, I concluded that Langston Hughes scores well on the subject of rhythm. However, that's only a small element of good poetry. I read a little about elements of poetry, and in summarized form, it can be put into the external form and the internal form. The external form being how it sounds and how it looks, and the internal form being other elements like story, personification, simile; basically giving the poem some sort of deeper meaning. From what I've looked at of Hughes, he was quite good at the external part of the poem, but that seems to have been his focus. Sometimes he tells a decent story, but on the deeper parts of internal poetry, at least in my experience, he tends to come up short.

One of many examples would be, "Homesick Blues," one of Hughes' rhythmic poems:

De railroad bridge's
A sad song in de air.
De railroad bridge's
A sad song in de air.
Ever time de trains pass
I wants to go somewhere.

I went down to de station.
Ma heart was in ma mouth.
Went down to de station.
Heart was in ma mouth.
Lookin' for a box car
To roll me to de South.

Homesick blues, Lawd,
'S a terrible thing to have.
Homesick blues is
A terrible thing to have.
To keep from cryin'
I opens ma mouth an' laughs.

 It looks and sounds good, and even tells a decent narrative, but that's about it. Where's the symbolism, metaphor, ambiguity? Although I'm definitely not a poetry aficionado, that's what I tend to look for. Lyrics that make me think or feel something. That being said, I think a good way to compare these poems is to look at songwriters in comparison to Hughes. Obviously as song has to have rhythm, but songwriters also include a lot of the internal elements that really make the lyrics interesting. 

At the risk of sounding like a fanboy, I'll use a song written by John Lennon, "In My Life," as an example:

The link is: <embed src="http://www.4shared.com/embed/108005281/7bf564f6" width="420" height="250" allowfullscreen="false" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed>

And the lyrics go:


There are places I'll remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends, I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I'll love you more

Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I'll love you more

     Now, the lyrics sound good and have a definitive rhythm, but he's also saying a lot. There's a lot of  other songs and songwriters I could have used, such as Brian Wilson, Paul Simon, or obviously, Bob Dylan, but I'm blogging about poetry, and not my musical interests. Anyway, in comparison to some of the lyrics written by those guys, as well as others, it doesn't really seem like Hughes is saying anything. I guess what I'm saying is that you can focus on sounding good and still say something important, which I think Hughes should have done more often.

Langston Got Dat Rhythm

     One of the recurring elements of Hughes' poetry is rhythm. It's the main focus of many of his poems. They were designed to be read aloud or even sung. This is the only part about Langston Hughes' writing I actually enjoyed (other than his comically bad grammar). When reading several of his poems, I could hear the jazzy rhythm and see them easily being sung. Well, it turns out that was his intention. His poetry has a jazzy rhythm, much like the music that would have been popular at the time. This style would later become popular as jazz poetry, making Hughes the pioneer.

     There are lots of musicians who I could connect with Hughes' poetry. Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Nat "King" Cole; pretty much any jazz great of the time would have inspired Hughes' poetry. Some on Hughes' jazz inspired poems include Bound No'th Blues, the Weary Blues, Song for a Banjo Dance, and Po' Boy Blues, along with countless others. Essentially, two thirds of his poems have the word blues in the title. He really should have been a songwriter, in my opinion. Anyway, those poems have a specific jazz rhythm that could be found in most popular music of the time. Below is an example.


 Louis Armstrong - West End Blues<br><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.4shared.com/flash/player.swf?ver=9051" style="" id="ply" name="ply" quality="high" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="false" wmode="opaque" flashvars="file=http://dc171.4shared.com/img/439801441/d2930b6a/dlink__2Fdownload_2FlhoOLO2c_3Ftsid_3D00000000-000000-00000000/preview.mp3&amp;volume=50&amp;" height="20" width="200"><br>Powered by <a href="http://mp3skull.com/">mp3skull.com</a><script type="text/javascript" src="http://mp3skull.com/embedcl.php"></script>

In conclusion, the use of poetry with a jazz rhythm was a new development at the time Hughes was writing it. It's the main reason Hughes' poetry was noteworthy, and still is noteworthy, and out of all his poems, the rhythmic ones were the only ones I could take any enjoyment from. However, my initial opinion hasn't been changed. I don't think having good rhythm is enough to write compelling poetry. I'll go deeper into other aspects of Hughes' poetry in blogs to come. Until then, I must say, Adios!

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.

vlog

Ok, I got it to upload finally. Also, sorry about the sound. It turned out a little quiet... enjoy.

Non-Classical music

<div style="padding: 3px; width: 400px; text-align: center;"><object width="400" height="334"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2LoYM5OWIqI?fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2LoYM5OWIqI?fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="334"></embed></object></div><a href="http://www.lyricsfreak.com">Lyrics</a> | <a href="http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/beatles/">Beatles lyrics</a> - <a href="http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/beatles/cant+buy+me+love_10026466.html">Can't Buy Me Love lyrics</a>

For this I chose a song by one of my favorite artists, the Beatles. This is one of their more lighthearted songs, but the themes coincide a lot with the character of Gatsby. Gatsby has all the possessions in the world, but the one thing in the world he desires most is Daisy's love. He spends all his days and nights waiting for her, not being truly happy even though he has everything in the world. This goes to show that there is deeper meaning to life than what you can physically touch. The singer shared the same sentiment as Gatsby when he says "I'll give you all I've got to give if you say you"ll love me too" and "I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love." He shares the same plight as Gatsby, and for that I pity him. Both these men have everything but the one thing that matters; love.

Letter to Scotty

Letter About Literature

Dear Mr. Fitzgerald,

                It is an honor to be writing to an author of such legendary caliber, however deceased you may be. For that I shed a single tear, however you most certainly live on through your writing. Personally, The Great Gatsby is one of the best if not the best book I’ve read. All the layers beyond the text really give the book a deeper meaning that what can be seen on the surface, and I think I could read it multiple times and still be amazed at your use of symbolism, themes, mood, motifs, conflict, and all the other literary tools that make “Gatsby” so much more than a story. It is a work of art.

                The themes are so transcendant and deep, yet the characters are still relatable. I think everyone knows a few Tom Buchanans, who have all the looks and money, but without the substance. On the same note, we all know a few Gatsbys as well. The dreamers, who put on a phasad of tranquility when deep down inside there’s a storm of emotions they can’t share with the world. When Gatsby finally gets what he wants, however, his dream is shattered by a reality of the corrupt world we live in. It really is touching stuff. I was able to relate to all the great characters at different parts of the book, and I think that’s one of the best parts about this book. The characters might demonstrate different flaws of the human race, but they are still very relatable. Gatsby’s past is sure shady, and some people would condemn him for his alleged illegal fortune, but he’s still an extremely likeable character, someone I would be happy to know in real life. It’s impossible not to care when he meets his fate. It’s the unshakable passion and hopefulness that makes Gatsby such a likable character. I was able to relate to his dreamer attitude and his tenacity to never give up. I guess what I’m trying to say is that the character of Gatsby really affected me. I think we all want to have his hopefulness and that’s why it’s so sould shatteringly sad to see his spirit crushed when Daisy refuses to leave Tom. It’s depressing to see how dreams don’t always live up to the buildup we give them. And in Gatsby’s case, even with all his earthly possessions, he still dies alone, without the one thing he truly needed in life; love.

                All that being said, another aspect of the book I truly enjoyed, second to only Gatsby, was your use of Nick Carraway in telling the story. I think in the same way that we’ve all been Gatasby at some point or another, we’ve also been Nick. The logical onlooker. The realist to Gatsby’s dreamer. In a way, Nick is the foil to Gatsby; sensible and down to earth. That’s why he’s so drawn to Gatsby. He’s never known someone so conflicted and with so much zeal. Anyway, I don’t want to ramble so I’ll close this. Those are just a few of my thoughts on the book, and a few of the things I particularly enjoyed about the book. It was truly an enlightening experience reading your work, Mr. Fitzgerald, and I hope to find more books that can enthrall me as much as The Great Gatsby.

Sincerely,

Brandon Blewett