C-SPAN, N.Y. Times give nod to KU celebration of Langston Hughes

KU's February 2002 symposium "Let America Be America Again," celebrating the life and legacy of American poet Langston Hughes, drew 500 scholars and Hughes enthusiasts and the attention of nationwide media.

A Feb. 14 article in The New York Times credited KU's symposium on Hughes with encouraging reassessment and deepening appreciation of the poet as a major voice in the 20th century.

KU will be featured in C-SPAN's American Writers II: The 20th Century series on Sunday, March 31, at 2 p.m. CST with a live TV program from Harlem focusing on Harlem Renaissance writers Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes.

When Mark Farkas, executive producer for the CSPAN series, learned about KU's Hughes symposium, he arranged to have portions of the symposium taped.

Portions of acclaimed actor Danny Glover's Feb. 7 "An Evening with Langston" program at KU are scheduled for part of the broadcast. C-SPAN plans to announce more program details later.

The KU celebration included an academic conference and seminar that drew hundreds of scholars and Hughes enthusiasts, art and photography exhibits, and readings by Alice Walker, author of "The Color Purple," and Glover.

Hughes (1902-1967) lived in Lawrence during his childhood years. His grandparents were abolitionists who had moved to Lawrence after the Civil War. His mother, Carolina "Carrie" Mercer Langston, was born on the family's farm near Lawrence. Before her marriage to James Nathaniel Hughes, she had attended KU as a part-time student in 1894 and 1895.

Read Stephen Kinzer's New York Times story.

See photos from the "Let America Be America Again" symposium featuring Alice Walker, Danny Glover and visiting writers Amira Baraka and Sonia Sanchez.

More information about the CSPAN series and writers is available online at http://www.americanwriters.org/

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