The Langston Hughes Reader: The Selected Writings of Langston Hughes

The Langston Hughes Reader contains selections of the works of Langston Hughes in various genres: poetry, prose, drama, etc. previously I had not read much of his writing. I had mostly read about him. I saw this book in the library, and I decided to make up for my deficiency. I am glad that I did. He was one of the most important writers of the Twentieth Century.  He wrote about slavery, the Jim Crow South, the Spanish Civil War, Jazz, and more. His writings are humorous, educational, tragic and sometimes ribald. In ways his writings have things in common with rap. Some people thought that he wrote things that were too vulgar. The things that he wrote need to be read today to remind people that the riots and racial injustices have been going on for much too long. It pains me to realize that the color of one's skin can be in some circumstances a death sentence. There were people who were denied medical attention at a hospital that was close to them because they were not white. Then these people died on the way to a hospital where they could be treated. That is barbaric. Racial injustices conti An editor who was going to publish one of Langston Hughes' stories was disconcerted, because he could not identify the race of characters in the story. He asked Hughes to add modifiers so that the race of the characters would be evident. Why was this important? His writings are as relevant now as they were when they were first published.