Black History Month: A Time to Honor Writers with Soul
In a recent series of mini-lessons, we’ve learned about Word Choice — the ability to pick the perfect words to fit your message. We’ve talked about dead verbs, sensory details, figurative language, using a thesaurus, and avoiding overused words like good, fun, said, and got. The thing is… writers who celebrate word choice do so using voice and what I like to call “soul” in their writing.
As we wrap up Black History Month, I can’t think of a better way to honor the achievements of African Americans than to listen and discuss the works of two very talented African American writers — Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes. Both of these writers write with passion and soul, and they show that the perfect word choice comes naturally when you write from the heart.
Listen and watch these two videos, the first a video interpretation of Langston Hughes “Dreams” poem, and the second a narrative video using Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise.” As you listen, think about what makes each of these pieces stand out.
For up to 10 extra credit points:
A. Answer one or more of the following questions using the comment button below this blog entry.
~What makes these pieces stand out?
~What words or devices do the authors use to convey their feelings and thoughts in writing?
~Now that we’ve studied word choice, do you notice anything about the words these authors have chosen to use?
~Share your thoughts about these poems. What did you think?
~Did these authors give you ideas or techniques you would like to use in your writing?
OR
B. Write a poem of your own inspired by the poems below. Include an explanation of how the poems inspired you (structure, pattern, word choice, topic, ideas, etc.)
Langston Hughes “Dreams”
Dreams
By Langston Hughes 
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Maya Angelou “Still I Rise”
Still I Rise
by Maya Angelou
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s miraculously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
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I try to spread my wings,
February 20th, 2008 at 10:10 pmBut cages keep them hidden.
Bonds of work tie me up,
Take my everything away.
My friends,
My family,
My freedom,
But you can’t take away my ability to fly,
For your can take my wings,
But I will still soar,
For one day I will regain my freedom,
And my wings will return,
When I escape my nightmare,
Of being kept here.
I dream about the day,
My few items will return,
My friends,
My family,
My freedom,
Because it is these things,
That mean the most to me,
And it is these things that have given me the ability to soar,
Even when my wings are encaged,
And hidden.
Here is my poem about Black History Month that voices my opinion on these amazing writers’ poems!
Life comes and goes
but hope will always stay
I may be bruised and beaten
But I see light in a new way
I dream of a faraway land
where racism is all a scare
where people of all colors live in peace
with not a worry to bear
I share this dream with others
who see it like I do
but now it’s just a dream
until some angel sees it through
Today I’m voicing my opinion
on what once was life for real
about these brave brave souls
and their unfortunate ordeal
The suffering mankind sought
gives freedom that special taste
For now all colors can rejoice
and call our nation their place
The home they yearned for years ago
the thought that gave them strength
to carry all the hardships through
and make a home of this place
the tear stained face
the blood drenched hands
have paid off greatly
for now we stand
with all the colors
white, black, and proud
singing the national anthem
belting it way out loud
So during this time of history
lets give thanks to those who gave
their lives and thoughts to change our world
and now those in the future can say
thanks to all the special people
like Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou
these beautiful poets and linguists
that made history just for you
So come with me and celebrate
these famous blacks at this time
treasure their thoughts and memories
and hopefully make your own ryhme!!!
HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH!!!!
February 20th, 2008 at 10:19 pmThese poems inspired me to write this poem because slavery is a great topic for powerful poems, using a repeating line can also have great impact on the meaning of the poem:
I soar and fly with golden wings,
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:42 amIn my wildest dreams,
But bonds of work tie up theses wings,
Cage them up,
Restrict them,
But these cages and restrictions cannot stop me from soaring.
You can take away,
My family,
My friends,
My freedom,
But you cannot take away my ability to soar,
For it is in my dreams,
That my family is together,
Around a “job free” table,
With our friends around us.
It is these thoughts,
That make me soar.
My friends,
My family,
My freedom.
And one day,
In my dreams,
I know I will be free,
And my wings will return,
The cage will vanish,
The bonds will be broken,
And that’s when,
My friends,
My family,
And my freedom,
Will be returned to me.
Share your thoughts about these poems. What did you think?
The 2 poems at the top of the page are so inspiring and moving. They explain the hard, treacherous times the slaves endured. In the poem Still I Rise by Maya Angelou it explains how strong her ancestors were. Maya’s family probably went through a very hard time,so she became a lot stronger. For her grandmother to be a slave and not lose her dignity and still want to go on says a lot about her.
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:09 pmAmazing grace.
How sweet the sound
when wounded bodies
have hit the ground.
The darker skin
has been neglected.
No brown skinned equal
can feel protected.
The hateful racists
do not know peace.
In victims’ lives
they’ve made a crease.
Until one pure man
stopped discrimination.
Famous words escaped his mouth
and spread across the nation.
Another woman who is honored
is one who stood her ground.
Opposite blacks said spiteful things.
On her heart their words would pound.
All these things
can make you think.
What is strong?
And what is weak?
Strong is when you hold together.
February 26th, 2008 at 12:57 pmWeak is when you pull away.
I hope I’ve done this month some justice.
Right here. And now. Today.
During this month of black history
We celebrate some people
They stood up for their rights
But now some of them stand under the steaple
This means a lot to me
They lost their lives for us
Would you give up your life
Just to stop a fuss
I just want to say thank you
February 26th, 2008 at 10:17 pmcause now we live in the land of the free because of the brave
Again thank you
Now we can all live in saftey both you and me
I am responding to the question what did you think about the poems
Maya Angelou’s poem was very moving. The way she wrote the poem was amazing. I liked how she repeated the words “still I rise”. I also liked her word choice. The words “you may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness but still I rise” were very touching and they made me think about how much discrimination the black slaves faced and despite it they continued to persevere and overcome the hardships they faced. We can all learn from their determination to overcome the challenges they faced.
Langston Hughes poem was a very short but very true. His poem shows that dreams are important. They motivate us and they give us something to look foreward to when things look bleak. I also liked all of the similes he used in his writing. “For when dreams die life becomes a broken-winged bird” I think that is a great simile because it paints a very good image in your mind. If you don’t have a dream, you become complacent with life and never drive yourself to do more.
February 26th, 2008 at 11:20 pmmine is kind of short…
Color should not matter
In a world that is diverse.
The situation for dark-skinned
seemed not able to be worse.
Until one day a woman
stood up for her rights
although considered better,
the differnet race still has to fight.
Dark and pale
need not be enemies.
For the world would be at peace,
if racist could only see
what they put the colored through.
I’m sure if they could,
their apologies would be true.
A heavy heart,
February 27th, 2008 at 2:05 aman angry mind,
discrimination truly hurts
more than one would find.
The video “Still I Rise” touched me in many ways. I loved how in the end he wispered the last “I Rise.” It really stould out to me because even though he reapeted I Rise, it was powerful everytime.
February 27th, 2008 at 7:54 pmThese poems are just the building blocks of our country. Our country is about giving oppurtunities and chances. As stated in Langston Hughes’ poem, if your dreams die, you’ll still have hope. That’s the beauty of God and our country. No human is perfect, because in a perfect world, our flaws would show very much. In Maya Angelou’s poem, some people have enslaved African Americans, but even though her ancestors are rooted in pain, still she rises. These poems have inspired me and shown me that this country holds more than meets the eye. I am proud that I live in this country and color is not a problem.
February 28th, 2008 at 4:03 pmOnce I read these amazing poems written by Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou I felt inspired so I decided to answer some of the questions.
Now that we’ve studied word choice, do you notice anything about the words these authors have chosen to use?
October 27th, 2008 at 9:25 pm(Contuined)
Yes, I do. I thought that these two wonderful poets used amazing, rich adjectives in their unqiue poems. I really thought that next time I am writing anything I will make sure to keep all of my adjectives descriptive.
What makes these poems stand out?
I don’t think I have ever heard any kind of writing like this. When I was scrolling through I stopped and started reading and I relaized that we should pay attention to writing all around us, as it was just written today. Their fluid word choice made me think of a descriptive picture in my mind.
Share your thoughts about this poem.
I really enjoyed reading this poems by two such vivid writers. I don’t think they could of performed any better. They did a fantastic job! It made me inspired to go out and write poetry and I hope it did to others too.
October 27th, 2008 at 9:37 pmFor number 1 in A I’m going to tell you why “Dreams” stands out. I think it stands out because the author is sending a message, and he’s saying if dreams die everything is dull and grey like there is no color in your life. But if you hold onto dreams you never know if there’s still hope but always try and go the extra mile don’t let your dreams go. But the other poem, “Still I Rise” was about if you experience the worst like awful words said to you or people lying and spreading roomers about you you should always bounce back up don’t let it hurt you.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:35 pm“still i rise” was very inspirational, because she said the words with such meaning. I liked how at the end she repeated her words to state the power of them. Also how she whispered her words to explain how important her words were. The poem was very touching.
May 31st, 2009 at 11:09 pm