Quotes from Langston Hughes

Jazz, to me, is one of the inherent expressions of Negro life in America: the eternal tom-tom beating in the Negro soul - the tom-tom of revolt against weariness in a white world, a world of subway trains, and work, work, work; the tom-tom of joy and laughter, and pain swallowed in a smile.

Without going outside his race, and even among the better classes with their 'white' culture and conscious American manners, but still Negro enough to be different, there is sufficient matter to furnish a black artist with a lifetime of creative work.

The rhythm of life is a jazz rhythm

Life dosent frighten me at all.

Life is a system of half-truths and lies, Opportunistic, convenient evasion.

The Jewish people and the Negro people both know the meaning of Nordic supremacy. We have both looked into the eyes of terror.

When peoples cry for you, they can straighten out your soul.

Perhaps the mission of an artist is to interpret beauty to people - the beauty within themselves.

I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.

Oh, God of Dust and Rainbows, Help us to seeThat without the dust the rainbowWould not be.

Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow.

In all my life, I have never been free. I have never been able to do anything with freedom, except in the field of my writing.

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed - Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above.

What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? ... Or does it explode?

Good morning, Revolution: You're the very best friend I ever had. We gonna pal around together from now on

While over Alabama earth These words are gently spoken: Serve and hate will die unborn. Love and chains are broken.

7 x 7 + love = An amount Infinitely above: 7 x 7 - love.

I must never write when I do not want to write.

We Negro writers, just by being black, have been on the blacklist all our lives. Censorship for us begins at the color line.

Writing is like travelling. It's wonderful to go somewhere, but you get tired of staying.

My personal experience has been that in my 25 years of writing, I have not been asked to do more than four or five commercial one-shot scripts. These were performed on major national hook-ups but produced for me no immediate additional jobs or requests. One script for BBC was done around the world with an all-star cast.

Rest at pale evening... A tall slim tree... Night coming tenderly Black like me

Never look for a worm in the apple of your eye.

To some people Love is given, To others Only Heaven.