The Langston Hughes Project
The first day of Black History Month also marks the 105th birthday of acclaimed Harlem Renaissance playwright, poet and social critic Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967). Hughes' work -- especially his memorable poems "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," "Night Funeral in Harlem," and the clarion call "A Dream Deferred" -- has influenced countless artists and writers. Hughes' interest in, and influence on, jazz has also inspired countless musicians, and this year VCU Libraries joins with the VCU School of Music to present "Ask Your Mama: Twelve Moods for Jazz," by The Langston Hughes Project, a concert by noted jazz composer and educator Dr. Ronald McCurdy. The concert -- on Friday, February 23, 2007 at 8 p.m. in the W. E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts -- features a multimedia celebration of Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance Era, including a spoken-word performance by Dr. Diane Richardson of selected poems by Hughes. The concert will be preceded by the VCU Libraries Black History Month lecture about The Langston Hughes Project by Dr. McCurdy and Dr. Richardson, on Thursday, February 22 at 7 p.m. in the Singleton Center.
For more information about this exciting event, visit The Langston Hughes Project at http://www.vcujazz.org/community/hughes/index.htm
For more information about Hughes and his contributions to American literature, visit The Academy of American Poets webpage at http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83
For more information about a journey Hughes made to Richmond in the 1920s, visit the online exhibit in the Special Collections Department at James Branch Cabell Library -- "Something Very Real": Langston Hughes and Richmond, Virgina, at http://www.library.vcu.edu/jbc/speccoll/stagg/
--Kevin Farley, Humanities Librarian - Collection Management