A review by kristianawithak
Selected Poems of Langston Hughes: A Classic Collection of Poems by a Master of American Verse by Langston Hughes

4.0

Selected Poems of Langston Hughes, published in 1959, was my last book for the #10Books10Decades challenge.

I will be recapping the challenge later, but suffice it to say it had a profound impact on me and my reading in 2023.

I read “Theme for English B” in college and it was a profound experience to find it again in the context of its published collection. To see how my understanding of it has changed as I grew in my understanding of race, slavery, and systematic oppression.

In a bit of serendipity, I’m reading Biting the Hand and Julie Lee quotes from Themes for English B. The alignment of these two books couldn't have been more perfect.

I really enjoyed this book. Hughes’s themes are still very relevant. His cadence is calming.

I’ve read two poetry collections this month and both will stay with me for a long time.