Collected Works of Langston Hughes v. 8; Later Simple Stories: Later Simple Stories v. 8 (The Collected Works of Langston Hughes) by Langston Hughes

The Collected Works of Langston Hughes #8

by Langston Hughes

Nearly a century after his birth in Joplin, Missouri, Langston Hughes is, in a sense, coming home. The University of Missouri Press is proud to announce the publication of The Collected Works of Langston Hughes, a compilation of the novels, short stories, poems, plays, and essays by one of the twentieth century's most prolific and influential African American authors. The seventeen-volume series will make available Hughes's most famous works as well as less well known and out-of-print selections, providing readers and libraries with a comprehensive source for the first time. Hughes moved to Harlem in the 1920s and ultimately became the most prominent figure in the literary, artistic, and intellectual phenomenon known as the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes wrote articles for The Crisis and in 1926 published his first book of poetry, The Weary Blues. Over the decades until his death in 1967, he became one of the best-known and most versatile American writers of the twentieth century. His creative range -- poetry, novels, short fiction, drama, translations, gospel-song plays, libretti, juvenile fiction, radio and television scripts, history, biography, and autobiography -- is unique in American letters. The seventeen volumes of the Collected Works are to be published with the goal that Hughes pursued throughout his making his books available to the people. Each volume will include a biographical and literary chronology by Arnold Rampersad, as well as an introduction by a Hughes scholar. The volume introductions will provide contextual and historical information on the particular work. In Volume 8, Jesse B. Semple returns with his more cosmopolitan bar buddy, Ananias Boyd. Socialclimber Joyce Lane is now Mrs. Jesse B. Semple, and Simple has minimized his flirtatious contacts with other women. Despite these ongoing characters, the later Simple stories are very different from the earlier Simple tales, evoking the historical and social context within which they were written. The Later Simple Stories returns to print Hughes's third and fourth Simple collections, Simple Stakes a Claim and Simple's Uncle Sam, along with some episodes Hughes did not include in any of his books. Simple Stakes a Claim reflects the troubled and troublesome era of the Cold War and McCarthy hearings. Simple's Uncle Sam captures the turbulent decade when black Americans asserted their rights. The innocent humor of the earlier Simple stories is replaced here by new strengths. Remarkably powerful female characters emerge in this volume. We observe Cousin Minnie's self-preservation skills and her willingness to riot to defend her rights as a citizen. We read about Simple's cousin Lynn Clarisse, who is a social activist educated at Fisk University. And we see Joyce herself emerge from her prim niche to display pride and knowledge about her African heritage. The Later Simple Stories rounds out Hughes's presentation of Jesse B. Semple and the various people of his world. While these episodes often focus on particularities of the times, they also articulate broader truths that remain valuable.

Hardcover

First published May 1, 2002

About the author

Through poetry, prose, and drama, American writer James Langston Hughes made important contributions to the Harlem renaissance; his best-known works include Weary Blues (1926) and The Ways of White Folks (1934).

People best know this social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist James Mercer Langston Hughes, one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry, for his famous written work about the period, when "Harlem was in vogue."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langsto...

Reviews

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good continuation and conclusion to the Jesse B. Semple saga. I disagree with many of the statements Donna Akiba Sullivan Harper (DASH, my nickname for her) says in the introduction. For this reason I believe only the first two and last two paragraphs of the introduction need to be read. That way the reader can form his or her own opinion about the stories and Hughes without being tainted by DASH's opinion.

I do believe Langston Hughes' frustration with racism and white people is almost palpable, yet and still, I think the stories were entertaining 100% of the time. DASH claims that Hughes was more preachy, sarcastic, and critical than humorous and entertaining. I disagree. The times were different so the stories weren't as light hearted as The Early Simple Stories, yet they were still for the most part written with a sense of humor. Langston Hughes laughed racism to death whether it was funny or not. Bravo Langston Hughes, bravo!

For those of you who will take my advice and not read most of the intro Hughes said that, "Since we have not been able to moralize them out of existence with indignant editorials maybe we could laugh them to death with well-aimed ridicule."

As an ending note I would like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Minnie, Simple's cousin! To me she was the star of The Later Simple Stories. Even though she was not referred to in every story, I was always thinking about her and interested in learning more about her. At first she doesn't seem like a complex character but as time goes on you learn that she has the complexity of human life, which only a cognoscente and talented write could pull off. Her character demonstrates that you cannot judge a book by its cover. I tip my hat to Langston Hughes.