The Political Plays of Langston Hughes
This volume provides a glimpse into Harlem Renaissance poet Hughes's activities as a leftist playwright. These politically charged plays (Scottsboro, Limited; Harvest; Angelo Herndon Jones; De Organizer) deal with labor woes, union infiltration, and the influence of radical politics on minorities in the 1930s. To get a clear view of Hughes's politics, Duffy (liberal studies, California Polytechnic Inst.; The Political Left in the American Theatre of the 1930s) recommends reading this work in conjunction with Arnold Rampersad's two-volume The Life of Langston Hughes (LJ 8/86; LJ 9/15/88) he also prefaces each play with an analysis of Hughes's motivation and some insight into his life at the time of the writing. A summary explains Hughes's supposed Communist affiliation. Duffy has filled a void by bringing together these historically valuable plays and initiating focus upon this neglected area of Hughes's career. Highly recommended for all academic and research libraries.-David M. Lisa, Mercyhurst Coll. Lib., Erie, PACopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.