From the US to Cuba: The Poetry of Langston Hughes and Nicolas Guillen

In 1930, Langston Hughes' (1901-1967) visit to Cuba created a buzz in the artistic community, as his poetry was highly popular globally as the literary period known as the Harlem Renaissance was widely acknowledged by people of the African diaspora. Hughes' met Nicolas Guillén (1902-1989), a prominent Latin American poet, while on one of his visits to Cuba. Hughes and Guillén quickly became friends and Hughes is widely recognized for influencing Guillén with his style of incorporating African themes and infusing literary form with African song and dance rhythms.

Some scholars believe Hughes encouraged Guillén to centralize the rhythms of Son in his poetry, drawing inspiration from Afro-Cuban speech, song, and dance. "Son" is a Cuban word that roughly translates to "the Cuban sound". It refers to a genre of Afro-Cuban music and dance that originated in the highlands of eastern Cuba in the late 19th century. Son combines elements of Spanish and African origin, including the vocal style, lyrical meter, and the primacy of the tres, which comes from the Spanish guitar. Son also has characteristic African rhythms, such as bongo and maracas, and a call and response structure. Some literary scholars believe, however, that the actual relationship and influence between Hughes and Guillen has been lost in translation.

What we do know is that, at some point, Guillén departed from his previous style and wrote eight poems that marked a significant departure. This transformation solidified Guillén's reputation as a leading poet in the Négritude movement, spanning the Americas. His international breakthrough came with the 1930 publication of "Motivos de son," inspired by the living conditions of Afro-Cubans and the son music. This collection of eight short poems, written in the everyday language of Afro Cubans, played a pivotal role in emphasizing and validating Afro-Cuban culture within Cuban literature.

In this presentation, Dr. Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman, the Poet Laureate of Prince George's County, Maryland and the Executive Director of The Hurston/Wright Foundation, will discuss the poetry and intersections of Hughes and Guillén's work. She will read English translations of Guillen's work and engage the audience in a community discussion about the importance of poetry.

Host or Publisher The Hurston/Wright Foundation