"Kerry's Poetic Gamble" (WSJ calls Langston Hughes "communist")

[villager]

INDEPTH: POETRY IN POLITICS
John Kerry's poetic gamble

Dan Brown, CBC News Online | July 26, 2004


John Kerry has been quoting the poetry of Langston Hughes on the campaign trail. No matter which candidate wins this November's presidential vote, 2004 will go down in U.S. history as a remarkable election year. That's because John Kerry, the Democratic White House hopeful, has been reciting poetry as part of his stump speech. And that kind of thing doesn't happen often in America.

Although there isn't a strict separation between the worlds of presidential politics and poetry, they don't collide with great frequency these days. And Kerry's use of Let America Be America Again, a poem written by the late Langston Hughes, represents a head-on collision– not only has the Massachusetts senator adopted the title of the poem as his official slogan, but he is also quoting entire lines from Hughes on the campaign trail.

<snip>


President George W. Bush has made a name for himself as almost an anti-poet. Which brings up the obvious question for political junkies: Is Kerry using the poem as a method, albeit a subtle one, to create a contrast with President George W. Bush? After all, Bush has made a name for himself as someone who sees the world clearly and speaks plainly, as almost an anti-poet. He does not make conscious attempts to impress voters with verbose speechifying, and can sometimes come across as tongue-tied. Did Kerry pick Hughes so that Democrats can say of their candidate "See, here's an articulate man, a man who's at ease dealing with complex ideas and making nuanced distinctions?"

<snip>

The poem's title does not, however, resonate with James Taranto. Taranto is the editor of Opinion Journal, the online arm of the Wall Street Journal's editorial page. He has written about Hughes several times since Kerry started quoting the poet, and it's his judgment that Let America Be American Again is, in fact, anti-American. "So America isn't America under the Bush administration? I guess that's the implication," Taranto says.

Taranto believes the poem was "clearly inspired by if not communism, a naïve sympathy for communism" that was fashionable at the time Hughes wrote. Kerry is familiar enough with Hughes that he was asked to write the introduction to a new collection of the writer's work, so Taranto can't imagine Kerry was unaware of the poem's communist subtext.

<snip>

yes, James, that would be the goddamn implication about the unAmerican Bush junta!

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/features/poetryinpolitics/

[AP]

1. I wonder what Langston Hughes would have said about WSJ editorial board?

[villager]

2. exactly!

n/t

[Literate Tar Heel]

19. probably something like this

"Politics in any country in the world is dangerous. For the poet, politics in any country in the world had better be disguised as poetry ... Politics can be the graveyard of the poet. And only poetry can be his resurrection." ... well, he did say that

[jpgray]

3. Laura Bush loves Langston Hughes. Is she a communist? Anti-American?

I swear, the WSJ editorial board is the biggest waste of space in national media. McCarthyism is past, folks--the side of blacklists and 'outings' lost.

[villager]

5. they're not even "clever" rightwingers, anymore...

...they're stumbling around, relying on 50 year-old tricks ("commie!")

[Cha]

4. Goddamn right it's not American under bush...it's a fucking

facist regime..you idiot, taranto.

[russian33]

6. WSJ is running out of ideas to bash Kerry...

...what's the matter, the hair-cut issue didn't play out as well as they thought?

[nickgutierrez]

10. Um... Commie! Funny suit! Rabbit ears!

Throws like a girl!

Anything but what actually matters!!!

[proud patriot]

7. It's a great poem

:shrug: I think the pukes pushing the commie line
should SHOVE IT .

Thank You Teressa

[markses]

8. Langston Hughes WAS a communist

So what?

[blm]

9. But, I heard here at DU that Kerry is no different than Bush.

.

[Cocoa]

11. not clear what the "gamble" is

The communist angle is just stupid, and even the anti-intellectual angle isn't convincing.

I'm surprised, and a little bit skeptical, that these people say politicians don't quote poets. If that's true, then it's just sad, and maybe Kerry can lead the way to a change. Get people saying some verses that aren't from the Bible.

[Wickerman]

12. Its dishonest and downright McCarthy-esque to apply the Communist

tag without considering the context of Hughes' involvement. Yes, he was involved in Communist issues in the 30's. He was sympathetic to Labor issues and was shaped by events of the Depression and saw the Communist as supporters of the Civil Rights struggle he was involved in.

Here is a decent review of his '30's work:

http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/g_l/hughes/1930s.htm

and here, from a 5th grade lesson plan (perhaps the RNC can actually read this) is a capsule explanation:

"Langston became interested in socialism during his youth. His belief that all property should be divided equally among society lead him to join the Communist party. In 1932, he went to the Soviet Union as part of a team of writers to produce a documentary. He admired the Soviet Union and saw it as a symbol of hope. Though the country was poor and struggling, Hughes noticed there was no racism or economic divisions. He wrote the poem "One More 'S' in the U. S. A." for the U. S. Communist party in 1934. In later years, his involvement with the Communist party brought him before the McCarthy Committee which was investigating the influence of communism in the United States. This was during a time of nationwide anti-communist hysteria (The Cold War). Hughes made a deal with the committee and no charges were ever filed. But the experience brought his character into question."

During World War II in 1942, Hughes was called to serve on the Writers War Board. Hughes wrote jingles to inspire the troops as well as to fight segregation such as, "Looks like by now, Folks ought to know, It's hard to beat Hitler, Protecting Jim Crow." Because of this publicity, Hughes became a familiar name in many American households

http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/Byrnes-famous/hughes.html

[OhioArtist]

13. "and can sometimes come across as tongue-tied"

Uh, no. It's no "can sometimes" it's "often is"

[hatrack]

14. The WSJ - Protecting YOU From Poetry Written By Dead Communists!!

What a pathetic bunch of whiny, clueless, frightened puckered sphincters.

Please note - above description applies only to WSJ editorial board.

[noiretextatique]

15. "america was never america to me"

the america that never was america is a threatening concept to the rw. it's not surprising the rw considers this reality "unamerican"...they like to pretend advantages and disadvantages don't exist...that way they can pretend that their privilege was gained soley by their own efforts (no racism, classism, sexism, etc).

[pbg]

16. "All right sir..."

"...step away from that Paul Robeson record and keep your hands where we can see them..."

[villager]

18. "we have library records...

...that prove you've been reading poems!"

[donsu]

17. but Clinton had a great poet at his inaugration, remember "Rise" ?

nt