SI OutLOUD Presents 'I've Known Rivers': Poems By Langton Hughes, 5/8

 

Staten Island OutLOUD, a community dialogue and performance project, presents 'I've Known Rivers', poems by Langston Hughes on Saturday, May 8 at 12:30 pm. Participants will have a chance to read from Hughes' poems and discuss the African-American writer's legacy.

Langston Hughes is often referred to as the "Poet Laureate of the Negro Race." In the years between his first book in 1926 and his death in 1967, he devoted his life to writing and lecturing. He wrote sixteen books of poems, two novels, three collections of short stories, four volumes of "editorial" and "documentary" fiction, twenty plays, children's poetry, musicals and operas, three autobiographies, a dozen radio and television scripts and dozens of magazine articles. In addition, he edited seven anthologies. Some of Hughes' poems include "The Weary Blues", "The Negro Mother", "The Dream Keeper", "Shakespeare In Harlem", "The Best of Simple", among others.

The readings will be held on top of North Mound at Freshkills Park, with expansive views of Staten Island and the Manhattan Skyline. A tour of the site will accompany the readings. Space is limited. To register, please e-mail doug.elliott@parks.nyc.gov with the subject heading "SI OutLOUD" or call (212) 788-8277. http://statenislandoutloud.org