| Description |
1 online resource (xvi, 382 pages) |
| Series |
The collected works of Langston Hughes ; v. 7 |
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Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967.
Works. 2001 ; 7
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| Contents |
Acknowledgments -- Chronology -- Introduction -- A note on the text -- [section 1]. Simple speaks his mind (1950) -- pt. 1. Summer time -- 1. Feet live their own life -- 2. Landladies -- 3. Simple prays a prayer -- 4. Conversation on the corner -- 5. Family tree -- 6. A toast to Harlem -- 7. Simple and his sins -- 8. Temptation -- 9. Wooing the muse -- 10. Summer ain't simple -- 11. A word from "Town & country" -- 12. Matter for a book -- 13. Surprise -- 14. Vacation -- pt. 2. Winter time -- 15. Letting off steam -- 16. Jealousy -- 17. Banquet in honor -- 18. After hours -- 19. A veteran falls -- 20. High bed -- 21. Final fear -- 22. There ought to be a law -- 23. Income tax -- 24. No alternative -- 25. Question period -- 26. Lingerie -- 27. Spring time -- pt. 3. Hard times -- 28. Last whipping -- 29. Nickel for the phone -- 30. Equality and dogs -- 31. Seeing double -- 32. Right Simple -- 33. Ways and means -- 34. The law -- 35. Confused -- 36. Something to lean on -- pt. 4. Any time -- 37. In the dark -- 38. For the sake of argument -- 39. Simple pins on medals -- 40. A ball of string -- 41. Blue evening -- 42. When a man sees red -- 43. Race relations -- 44. Possum, race, and face -- 45. A letter from Baltimore |
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[section 2]. Simple takes a wife (1953) -- pt. 1. Honey in the evening -- 1. Seven rings -- 2. What can a man say? -- 3. Empty room -- 4. Better than a pillow -- 5. Explain that to me -- 6. Baltimore womens -- 7. Less than a damn -- 8. Picture for her dresser -- 9. Cocktail sip -- 10. Apple strudel -- 11. Belles and bells -- 12. Bop -- 13. A hat is a woman -- 14. Formals and funerals -- 15. Science says it's a lie -- 16. Joyce objects -- 17. The necessaries -- 18. Second-hand clothes -- 19. Fancy free -- 20. That powerful drop -- 21. Never no more -- 22. Simply heavenly -- pt. 2. Manna from Heaven -- 23. Midsummer madness -- 24. Morals is her middle name -- 25. Party in the Bronx -- 26. Last thing at night -- 27. They come and they go -- 28. A million -- and one -- 29. Two loving arms -- 30. All in the family -- 31. Kick for punt -- 32. Night in Harlem -- 33. Staggering figures -- 34. Tickets and takers -- 35. Subway to Jamaica -- 36. No tea for the fever -- 37. That word black -- 38. Boys, birds, and bees -- 39. On the warpath -- 40. A hearty Amen -- 41. Colleges and color -- 42. Psychologies -- 43. Must have a seal -- 44. Shadow of the blues -- pt. 3. Sassafras in spring -- 45. Nothing but roomers -- 46. Here comes old me -- 47. Strictly for charity -- 48. Once in a wife-time -- 49. Whiter than snow -- 50. Simple Santa -- 51. Present for Joyce -- 52. Christmas song -- 53. Tied in a bow -- 54. Sometimes I wonder -- 55. Dear Dr. Butts -- 56. Castles in the sand -- 57. Four rings -- 58. Simply love -- Notes -- Index of titles |
| Summary |
Annotation Jesse B. Semple first sprang to life in Langston Hughes's weekly Chicago Defender column in 1943. Almost immediately, the "Simple stories," as they were routinely called, had a large and ever-increasing audience. Simple soon became Harlem's Everymanan ordinary black workingman, representative of the masses of black folks in the 1940s. <p style="line-height: 150%">Simple had migrated to Harlem, like many other blacks, seeking to escape the racism of the South, and he celebrated his new freedoms despite the economic struggles he still confronted. Simple's bar buddy and foil in the stories is the better-educated, more articulate Boyd, who has never lived in the South. Their conversations permit Simple to speak the wisdom of the working class. <p style="line-height: 150%">By the time the first book of Simple stories was published, Hughes had honed and polished these two characters, enhancing the distinctions between the vernacular language of Simple and the more educated diction of his friend. Remaining within the Afrocentric world that was his chosen sphere, Hughes makes clear the message that Simple and Boyd are very much alike; both are black men in a racially unbalanced society. Both exist in a world within a world, in Harlem, the separate black community of New York City. <p style="line-height: 150%">"You imply that there is no fun to be had around white folks."<br />"I never had none," said Simple.<br />"You have a color complex."<br />"A colored complexion," said Simple.<br />"I said complex, not complexion."<br />"I added the shun myself," said Simple. "I'm colored, and being around white folks makes me feel more coloredsince most of them shun Negroes." <p style="line-height: 150%">Countless exchanges between Simple and his companion offer wit and wisdom that remind contemporary readers why Langston Hughes is so special |
| Analysis |
Litteratur Engelsk, amerikansk litteratur |
| Notes |
Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL |
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English |
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Print version record |
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digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL |
| Subject |
African Americans -- Literary collections
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Simple (Fictitious character) -- Fiction
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African American men -- Fiction
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African Americans -- Fiction
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African American men
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African Americans
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Simple (Fictitious character)
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| SUBJECT |
Harlem (New York, N.Y.) -- Fiction
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| Subject |
New York (State) -- New York -- Harlem
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| Genre/Form |
Serialized fiction
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Fiction
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Literary collections
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Bildungsromans.
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Serialized fiction.
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Romans-feuilletons.
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| Author |
Harper, Donna Sullivan
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| ISBN |
0826263852 |
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9780826263858 |
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0826213707 |
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9780826213709 |
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1417528273 |
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9781417528271 |
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