Three Of My Literary
Heroes
I have always
found African American Literature amazing.
It has inspired me in many ways to continue to develop as a poet,
playwright, and essayist. Over the
years, I have read the works of many great writers such as Langston Hughes,
Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Countee Cullen.
These authors did not only achieved fame but they have left a legacy of
greatness for other writers to follow.
These great men have raised the bar of excellence as authors but more
importantly they did these great works against all odds. For many reasons, these authors have
inspired me not only to write but to carry on my life's calling which is using
my talents as a writer to glorify God.
As for these
writers, I have found their lives and their work to be very fascinating. Their lives and works has compelled me to
envision myself not only as a author but as a man. I know no one is perfect but everyone has people that they admire
and these men I greatly admire for many different reasons. As a student of literature, I have learned
that for someone to be considered a part of literature, is that the authors
work has to last the test of time. Each
of these authors' works have been chosen and have stood the test of time. This makes them without a doubt literature,
as each one of these fine individuals, as literary heroes, has left an impact
on me in many various ways.
For it was
Langston Hughes, his longevity as do it all writer, whose career went into epic
proportions as he continued have his work published up until his death in
1967. As for Paul Laurence Dunbar, he
was not the first African American writer, but he was the first African
American writer to be accepted by African Americans and Whites. Despite the odds, Dunbar succeeded and
inspired the hearts and souls of many younger African American authors to
follow. When it comes to Countee
Cullen, what stands out to me beyond his great writing is that he had a very
high standard of moral conduct. He was
considered by many in his generation as the first African American Christian
writer. Cullen set a standard for
writing about his beliefs and in his actions in the way he lived his life as a
man. It was each of these fine men and
in their own unique ways that helps me to continue to believe and achieve my
goals as a writer and as a man.
Langston
Hughes was born in 1902 and died in 1967.
He was a poet, playwright, essayist, novelist, and journalist and
contributed to many genres of literature as a writer. He was a do it all writer, who still today is primarily known as
a poet. Although, Hughes poems were
very famous, he enjoyed success as a novelist, and a playwright. His novels, Not Without Laughter and Tambourines
To Glory were very well regarded as great works. Hughes also was a accomplished journalist and he went all over
world reporting news and working for many magazines and newspaper
companies. As a matter of a fact,
Hughes went to Europe, to cover the African American soldiers that fought in
World War II for Ebony magazine. As a
playwright, he was just as successful as he was as a novelist and poet. His plays such as, Mulatto and Black Nativity
were huge hits on the theater scene. As
a matter of a fact, the play Black
Nativity was just recently turned into movie about four years ago. This shows Hughes' legacy as a man and a
writer is a legacy that only continues to thrive. Hughes survived The Harlem Renaissance, the literary period in
which he became famous. After this
great literary era was over, he was still producing great material in many
different genres of literature. It was
this man's great work ethic that led to his longevity that I will forever
remember and learn from and with the most highest regards for Langston Hughes
as one my literary heroes. In his poem,
Justice, I must quote, “
That Justice is a blind goddess is a thing to which we black are wise. Her bandage hides festering sores that once
perhaps were eyes.” This poem is very short but very powerful
and yet it shows Hughes' creative skills and also his passion for justice and
racial equality for African Americans.
It is through this man's work ethic and longevity that only continues to
compels me to express my passion and live my dreams.
Paul Laurence
Dunbar was a legend for me and also many other people. He was born in 1872 and died in 1906. At the time of his untimely death, he was
only 33 years old. He left a powerful
body of works as a poet, playwright and novelist. He was born in Dayton, Ohio and was the son of former
slaves. His first book of poems was
called Oak And Ivy, and was the book
that would lead him to a life of fame.
After the publication of Oak and
Ivy, Dunbar traveled to the World's Fair which was in Detroit, Michigan and
that year it was there that Dunbar met Fredrick Douglass. Douglass was a famous abolitionist and he
later became the United States ambassador to Haiti. Douglas was so impressed with Dunbar that he hired Dunbar to work
for him as a clerk. Douglass became
Dunbar's mentor and helped him excel as a writer. As a poet, Dunbar was highly skilled at dialect poems and humor
poems. He also was a master when it
came to Shakespearean sonnets. In his
short life time, Dunbar carried the weight and burdens of many as he was considered
and well respected as the first professional African American writer. Although, Dunbar was not the first African
American writer, he was the first African American writer that was accepted by
both races. As his legendary status
grew, he would be critiqued by many major literary critics during his
time. Literary critic Dean William
Howells, reviewed Dunbar's second book of poetry, called Majors And Minors. Howells
criticized Dunbar as he only praised Dunbar's dialect poems. However, Howells thought that Dunbar was
limited as a poet. Yet, Howells over
looked Dunbar's Shakespearean Sonnets that where wrote in standard English
verse. This hurt Dunbar completely
because people in those times, would only go on to notice his talents when it
came to dialect poems. Dunbar was ahead
of his time when he wrote his dialect poems because he set the stage for many
other famous African American writers to later emerge. It was the life and soul of Paul Laurence
Dunbar a man, myth, and a legend who gave birth to idea that an African
American could have a professional career as a writer. It was through this man's art, heart, and
soul that has not only inspired and influenced me as writer but also so many
more to follow.
Dunbar was a
man who understood his position and rare opportunity with great
importance. He expressed this is in his
poem titled, A Prayer he wrote, “ O Lord, the hard-won miles Have worn my stumbling
feet: Oh, soothe me with thy smiles, And make my life complete. The thorns were thick and keen Where' er I
trembling trod; The way was long between My wounded feet and God. Where healing waters flow Do thou my
footsteps lead. My heart is aching so;
Thy gracious balm I need.” His poem A
Prayer, shows the pain and suffering that he experienced in his life time, yet
he was never afraid to bare his soul in his writing. This shows me that I can only grow and continue to dream because
Mr. Paul Laurence Dunbar paved the way for me and others so we could write and
dream.
When it comes
to a writer having a high sense of moral dedication and religious beliefs,
combined with creative skill and honesty, I think of Countee Cullen. Cullen was a adopted child and was raised in Harlem, New
York. He was supposedly born in 1902
and died in 1946. Cullen was a star
poet, novelist, playwright, and essayist from an early age. His adopted father was a very prominent
Methodist minister that saw Cullen's potential at very young age. By the time he was 22, he was the most
famous and celebrated African American poet of his time. He was a huge figure in the Harlem
Renaissance, as he was a contemporary of Langston Hughes, Wallace Thurman,
Claude McKay, and James Weldon Johnson.
Cullen, was a child's protege in which he peaked as a poet very early in
life. Academically, Cullen was just as
accomplished and he received his bachelor's from New York University and his
Masters' from Harvard University. As
poet, Cullen's work reflected on pious beliefs of being a Christian. As he excelled as a writer, Cullen would be
later considered in literary history as the first proclaimed Christian African
American writer. Since he was adopted,
he would later become united with his biological mother and he would take care
of her for the rest of her life. This
great man would die at age of 42, leaving a great legacy as
man whose work professed his beliefs in Christ. Like Hughes and Dunbar, Cullen was a man who was very proud of
his African American heritage and he always wanted to inspire people. His moral dedication as a Christian, was
shown in his poem called, A Thorn Forever
In The Breast. As Cullen wrote “ This is the certain end his dream achieves:
He sweats his blood and prayers while others sleep, And shoulders his own
coffin up a steep Immortal mountain, there to meet his doom Between two
wretched dying men, of whom One doubts, and one for pity's sake believes.” This shows Cullen's religious beliefs and
that he was never ashamed to not only write about them but to profess them
boldly. The life, work and the high
moral beliefs of Countee Cullen, have taught and shaped me not only as a poet
but as a man and as a Christian. It is
a man like Countee Cullen that inspires me to keep on striving for God and my
dreams.
African
American Literature will always inspire, educate, and motivate me to continue
to follow my dreams. It is through
learning about different periods of history that I am informed about culture
and society in America. The lives and
the works of these fine individuals Langston Hughes, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and
Countee Cullen have impacted so many as their works remain timeless. These issues that these men wrote about in
their time's still are very relative today.
If I didn't have these great examples to look toward, I may have been
reluctant to become a writer myself. It
is the very essence of life that literature captures with words in the form of
imagery. Sometimes, the words are not
as pretty or seem to be kind of awkward but as long as they are real they
define the human spirit of life. This
is what I find when I read and study my Literary Heroes.
