African American Literature and Public Intellectual Life Langston Hughes 1930s to 1950s Programs and Broadsides of Lectures and Performances

Langston Hughes

Archive

Hughes, Langston. event ephemera, circa 1930s to 1950s, documents the public literary, musical, and educational activities of one of the central figures of twentieth century African American literature and provides direct evidence of his role as a lecturer, performer, and cultural organizer beyond the printed page. These materials record Hughes’s participation in theatre productions, lecture circuits, and interdisciplinary performances that combined poetry with music, situating his work within broader networks of Black cultural production and education. The archive supports research into African American literature, the afterlife of the Harlem Renaissance, and the dissemination of Black artistic and intellectual life through public institutions including colleges, community organizations, and performance venues.

Six printed items, primarily broadsides and programs, ranging approximately from 4.5 x 6.5 inches to 8.5 x 12 inches, some double sided, advertising and documenting appearances by Langston Hughes across multiple venues. Items include a flyer for Drums of Haiti, a play by Hughes presented by The Roxane Players at the YWCA, scheduled for April 15 to 17; a program for A Program of Music, Poetry & Song, dated February 18, 1952, featuring Hughes alongside composer Margaret Bonds and baritone Dan Andrews; and an announcement for a lecture at Tougaloo College, Mississippi on October 31, 1952, titled How Poems Are Made, followed by discussion of African American literature. Additional materials include a Filippa Pollia Foundation flyer advertising a speaking tour with Arna Bontemps on “Negro Life in America and Haiti,” a Negro History Week flyer listing Hughes among featured speakers alongside Fannie Hurst and Cycilon B. Yaling, and a Fort Valley State College, Georgia program outlining a Hughes lecture with musical prelude and audience participation.

Produced during a period when Hughes maintained an extensive national presence as a lecturer and cultural figure, these materials document how African American literature was actively disseminated through live performance, educational programming, and community engagement. The inclusion of collaborations with figures such as Margaret Bonds and Arna Bontemps reflects interdisciplinary networks linking literature, music, and historical discourse, while appearances at historically Black colleges and public forums demonstrate the institutional contexts in which Hughes’s work circulated. As a group, these items provide a detailed record of Hughes’s role in shaping mid twentieth century African American cultural life through direct engagement with audiences, preserving the infrastructure of events that sustained and expanded Black artistic expression. Minor edge wear with strong paper stability; overall condition very good.

Item #21449

Price: $950.00