First, I would like you to read the essay, “Adventures of a Social Poet,” by the Harlem Renaissance writer, Langston Hughes. In this essay, Hughes carves out
the space for writers to write with a “collective, social consciousness,” meaning that Hughes argues that often writers, even when they appear to be writing
about their own personal experiences and reflections and their lives, are oftentimes really using these experiences as a gateway into writing with a “collective
or communal voice” that speaks for and represents an entire community. In other words, a writer can write for a community, write for others, to give voice to
those who may otherwise lack the voice. In this way, writing itself can become a form of social protest, a form of social activism, and a form of social
awareness on issues of importance, such as Hughes’ speaking upon the subject of racism, discrimination, and even censorship. While Hughes is most
famously known for his poetry, this essay of his is invaluable in helping us as readers to understand the reasons an author may choose to write with a
“collective and community-driven voice.”
“Langston Hughes and “My Adventures as a Social Poet.”
it is possible it could fall on a different page, so I will give the passage:
“After I left, I sat in the car, idle for a few minutes. I thought of all that Prince’s mother had invested in him, and all that was lost. I thought of the loneliness
that had sent him to The Mecca, and how The Mecca, how we, could not save him, how we ultimately cannot save ourselves.”
While Ta’Nehisi Coates is referring specifically in this passage to the death of Prince Jones (1975-2000). To read more about Prince Jones, use the links to an
article:
Article: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2009/03/a-little-more-on-prince-jones/6967/
Coates is also speaking with a voice of what I would call a “collective, communal consciousness,” where he is reflecting not only upon the life and death of
one individual, but on his community as a whole. I want you to go back and re-read the entire passage I am quoting from on page 146, read the whole
paragraph that discusses the sit-ins, the protesters. And then I want you to think about the line, “we ultimately cannot save ourselves.”
Instruction: What does this passage from Coates tell us about Coates’ worldview and his authorial perspective? If Coates is taking upon himself the gravitas
of speaking in a “communal, collective voice,” as a representative of many and not a few, then how would you define this “communal, collective voice of
activism and social consciousness?” Give some descriiptors (descriiption to it); why does Coates feel this way? You should refer to both the passage and
other parts of the memoir as well. Additionally, what similarities do you see between Coates’ “collective, social consciousness” and Langston Hughes’
“collective, social consciousness?” Here use one or more passages from Hughes as well.
Required Text:
Coates’ Between the World and Me: https://www.mtsac.edu/elj/english/documents/engl1a/engl_1a_reading_n.pdf p.s. the text is very long, so just scan it. or
search for summaries for each chapter. PLEASE USE AT LEAST 2 QUOTES from this text.
Langston Hughes My Adventures as a Social Poet: https://www.jstor.org/stable/272335?seq=5#metadata_info_tab_contents PLEASE USE AT LEAST
2 QUOTES from this text.
Only use these sources