Cultural Explosion Hits New York's Harlem

While this headline could be applied to New York City today, the period of time known as the Harlem Renaissance ranks as one of the most creative times in American history. Just prior to the 1920s, thousands of Blacks migrated from the rural South to Northern cities in search of jobs created by World War I. As a large black middle class emerged in Harlem, interest in politics, art, music, dance, and writing became intense. Fueled by vivid nightlife, artists and scholars mingled and gained inspiration.

Jazz exploded into Harlem nightlife in the early 1900s. By the 1920s one of the most famous Jazz musicians of all time, Duke Ellington, was the talk of the town. His innovative style utilized various musical instruments in unusual ways and the rhythm captivated audiences. Dancers, artists, and writers alike were drawn to his music. Ellington's music continued to inspire artists long after his death in 1974.

While the Harlem Renaissance writers such as Jean Toomer, Zora Neale Hurston, and Claude McKay have made literature of this time famous, it is the work of Langston Hughes which has perhaps the closest connection to Duke Ellington's music. In this lesson, you will investigate the connections between Duke Ellington's music and Langston Hughes' poetry.

Library of Congress,
Prints & Photographs Division,
Carl Van Vechten collection,
[reproduction number, e.g.,
LC-USZ62-54231]

• how Duke Ellington used musical instruments in his Jazz compositions to mirror the fast paced life of Harlem.
• how Langston Hughes' poetry compliments the Jazz of Duke Ellington.
• how Langston Hughes used poetic devices and word choice to create innovative poems.