HUGHES’ DREAM HARLEM

"He took the impossible and made it dance." Remembering Langston Hughes, this soulful, many-layered documentary shows how he fused jazz, blues, and common speech to celebrate black life. Seamlessly blending archival film and reenactments, the program features tours of Hughes’s Harlem hang-outs (including the poet’s house), musical performances, poetry readings, and reflections by Ossie Davis (who also narrates), Ruby Dee, and other artists influenced by this seminal writer and "poet laureate" of the Harlem Renaissance. Grades 6 and up. Color and black-and-white. 60 minutes. California Newsreel. ©2002.

“Hughes’ Dream Harlem carries the poetic voice of African Americans from the Harlem Renaissance to todays Def poetry. It reveals insight into Harlem of the past and the socio-political issues facing Africans in America today in the present.”— Danny Simmons, Executive Producer, Def Poetry

“Hughes’ Dream Harlem makes the link to today’s spoken word movement and the music-based poetry form that Langston invented.”—St. Clair Bourne, Filmmaker

“Imaginatively filmed, this fine program is recommended for both school and public libraries.”—Booklist

The interviews are incredibly powerful. This fascinating film should be a part of African American history, poetry and literature collections.—Library Journal

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