Starting June 16, 2004, a summer Langston Hughes Reading Group for Youth was held at the Village School in Wichita, KS. The reading group continued until mid-August.
On August 20, 2004, the Arts and Social Change Practitioners Seminar featured guest presenter/poet Kalamu ya Salaam of New Orleans, as part of the Langston Hughes National Poetry Project.
The Kansas Audio-Reader Network is a reading and information radio network serving blind, visually impaired, and print-disabled individuals in Kansas and western Missouri. Harlan Roedel was the volunteer reader for the Hughes work.
Site facilitator Dr. Brian Daldorph works with the young men on a weekly basis. The men have read excerpts from the The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes and have taken part in writing workshops. Kansas City poet Stan Banks will be the next discussion leader in late fall 2004.
On March 10, 2004, Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Public Library presented at its Northwood Branch Speaking of Rivers, a discussion of Langston Hughes's The Big Sea. Dr. Gerri Bates of Bowie State University led the discussion.
On March 14, 2004, the Enoch Pratt Public Library presented Zora Neale Hurston: Queen of the Harlem Renaissance at the Wheeler Auditorium of the Central Library. Dr. Carmaletta M. Williams of Johnson County Community College recreated the stories and life of Zora Neale Hurston in this dynamic presentation.
On March 30, 2004, the Enoch Pratt Public Library presented A Walk Through Harlem, a slide-illustrated lecture by photographer Michael Cunningham. This event was held at the Central Library's Wheeler Auditorium. The slide-illustrated lecture focused on the history of Harlem, including the period of the fabled Harlem Renaissance from the 1920s through the 1940s. Mr. Cunningham showed images of the people and places from today's Harlem and explained why it is America 's most exciting neighborhood.
On March 31, 2004, the Enoch Pratt Public Library presented Speaking of Rivers, a discussion of Langston Hughes's The Best of Simple. Dr. Ralph Reckley, of Morgan State University led the discussion.
On April 14, 2004, the Enoch Pratt Public Library presented at its Northwood Branch Speaking of Rivers, a discussion of Langston Hughes's Collected Poems. Chezia Thompsn-Cager of the Maryland Institute College of Art led the discussion.
On May 5, 2004, the Enoch Pratt Public Library presented Speaking of Rivers at its Northwood Branch, a discussion of Langston Hughes's Not Without Laughter. Dr. John Gissendanner of Towson University led the discussion.
On February 17, 2004, members of the Eugene B. Redmond (EBR) Writers Club read selected Hughes poems. Members also produced Kwansabas (a poetic form created by the Writers Club) dedicated to Langston Hughes and read them aloud. Redmond led the discussion by providing background on Hughes. Several group members contributed their thoughts on experiences reading Hughes's poetry over the years and commented commented commenting on his influence on their own writings.
On March 16, 2004, members were asked to consider the images of women in Langston Hughes's poetry and prose. They were assigned to read poems about women from The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes and five vignettes including, "Landladies," "Jealously," "Picture for Her Dresser," "Morals Is Her Middle Name," and "Minnie One More Time," from The Best of Simple . Members of the group were asked to write one or more Kwansabas.
On March 17, 2004, there was a session featuring Joy Harjo, a sensitive and stirring author, storyteller, musician, and enrolled member of the Muscogee/Creek Tribe. Her reading took place on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). Students, faculty, and members of the EBR Writers Club attended the reading. During her visit, Harjo also met with one of Professor Redmond's classes. In addition, she visited and read at Miles Davis Elementary school in East St. Louis.
On April 20, 2004, Dr. Howard Rambsy moderated the discussion for the reading. The group read selections from Hughes's Best of Simple short stories. Members from the Eugene B. Redmond Writers Club, as well as members from the 'Bout Books Club from St. Louis, participated. The discussion covered a number of issues relating to the stories, including male-female relationships, Hughes' humor, and black culture in general.
On April 21, 2004, the Eugene B. Redmond Writers Club invited Professor Rebecca Walsh, who presented "Langston Hughes's 'Lenox Avenue Mural': The Space of Harlem in Montage of a Dream Deferred." This session took place on the campus of SIUE. Professor Walsh led a discussion on Hughes' representations of space and place, focusing on the ways that Hughes defines Harlem as a distinct locus for African-American community and invention while exploring its connections to other locales. Among the Hughes poems focused on were "Parade," "Juke Box Love Song," "Movies," "Neon Signs," "Projection," "Theme for English B," and "Island (2)."
On April 21, 2004, the Kansas City Public Library SE Branch conducted a discussion of Langston Hughes's Not without Laughter led by Dr. Carmaletta M. Williams of Johnson County Community College.
On April 22, 2004, the Kansas City Public Library SE Branch conducted a discussion of Langston Hughes's Simple Speaks His Mind from The Best of Simple. Glenn Norton, director of the Kansas City Mentoring Initiative's Urban Transcendence Poetry Project, led the event.
On April 24, 2004, the Kansas City Public Library SE Branch conducted a discussion of Langston Hughes's Montage of a Dream Deferred led by Stan Banks.
On April 27, 2004, the Kansas City Public Library SE Branch conducted a discussion of Langston Hughes's "Dream Keeper" and other poems led by Laura Partridge.
On April 29, 2004, the Kansas City Public Library SE Branch presented poet and speaker Amiri Baraka at UMKC's Pierson Hall. The public was invited to attend.
On February 8, 2004, the "Illuminating Langston" fundraising event took place. The event brought together artistic, political, and community leaders to welcome other supporters of Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center LHPAC with an evening that featured the poetic works of Langston Hughes. Internationally acclaimed artists, including playwright August Wilson, actor Tom Skerritt, choreographer Donald Byrd, poet laureate Mona Lake Jones, gospel extraordinaire pastor Patrinell Wright and others, performed readings and interpretations of selected Hughes poems and stories.
During October 7-10, 2004, the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center hosted its second Hip Hop Weekend. The event included performance, workshops, open mics, and an urban art show. The Langston Hughes poem "Ask Your Mama" was woven into the performance to illustrate how innovative poets have contributed to current hip-hop rhythms.
In February 2004, this poetry circle site featured "An Afternoon of Jazz and the Poetry of Langston Hughes" featuring pianist Valerie Johnson and speaker Professor T. Ford. The event was located at the Maranatha Seventh Day Adventist Church in San Diego, CA.
In May 2004, Malcolm X Public Library, Grossmont College, and the Diamond Literary Festival presented filmmaker Madison Davis Lacy. Professor Lacy presented at both locations.
In July 2004, the Sylvia Sullivan Group Homes in San Diego hosted a reading of Not without Laughter.
An additional event was scheduled for October 11, 2004.
Moore Black Press hosted a 10-week poetry circle summer series for youth at the West End Performing Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Jessica Care Moore served as site facilitator and director. Dr. Donna Akiba Sullivan-Harper served as special guest speaker for the summer series. Dr. Sullivan-Harper is a nationally recognized Langston Hughes scholar. She has taught English at Spelman College since 1987 and has served as dean of undergraduate studies at Spelman since January 2003. She is the author of the only book-length study of Hughes's celebrated Jesse B. Semple stories, Not So Simple: The "Simple" Stories by Langston Hughes (1995). She has also edited four volumes of short fiction by Hughes, including volumes seven and eight in The Collected Works of Langston Hughes, a sixteen-volume set published by the University of Missouri Press to celebrate the centennial anniversary of Hughes's birth.
On February 22, 2004, the Ninth Street Baptist Church, in conjunction with Van Go Mobile Arts, both of Lawrence, Kansas, welcomed actor, poet, playwright, activist, and publisher Jessica Care Moore who conducted a coffee-house-style workshop. Eight local poets read their work in a coffee-house setting, while Ms. Moore guided them in a dynamic workshop utilizing Langston Hughes's Collected Works and aiding these poets in the polishing, publication, and presentation of their work.
On May 7, 2004, the Ninth Street Baptist Church of Lawrence, Kansas, presented a Youth Explosion Poetry Slam. Area youth groups entered the contest to display their original compositions in a "slam" style competition judged by local poetry experts. Langston Hughes's Collected Works were used.
On August 15, 2004, the Ninth Street Baptist Church and St. Luke AME hosted a discussion of Hughes's The Best of Simple.
On November 10, 2004, the Nommo Literary Society discussed The Big Sea.
During the 2003 fall semester and the 2004 spring semester, students at Point Loma participated in "Paint the Walls Poetry." Students read selections from The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes and created posters and art work featuring Hughes's poetry. The project will be repeated for the 2004-05 school year.
In summer 2004, the Sankofo group read excerpts from Hughes's writing. In October 2004, the group hosted a book discussion featuring a scholar from the Speakers Bureau.
In October 2004, students, teachers, and community members associated with St. Ignatius read Hughes's The Best of Simple. There was another book discussion event in mid-November.
In December 2004, the group will read The Big Sea. The final book discussion event will be held in January 2005.
On February 7, 2004, the University of Florida 's African-American Studies Department hosted the LHNPP Kick-Off event. The event included speakers from around the nation including Dr. Maryemma Graham and poet/playwright Ntozake Shange. Respondents enjoyed the dramatic readings for the genuine and interesting way in which they were presented.
On February 23, 2004, actor, poet, playwright, activist, and publisher Jessica Care Moore presented her work to the students enrolled in the Van Go after-school program.
On April 2, 2004, Van Go Mobile Arts of Lawrence, Kansas presented a poetry slam featuring its students' work. In the month prior to the poetry slam, local poets conducted a workshop with the Van Go students to teach them about the creative process used in writing poetry. This was followed by the slam, featuring poets from the community, as well as Van Go students. The students and their families were invited to attend.
On March 18, 2005, the Detroit site will have a poetry workshop featuring poet Jessica Care Moore on the campus of Marygrove College with 30-40 high school students in the metropolitan area who are aspiring young poets. There will also be a lecture on Langston Hughes presented by Dr. Emily Bernard, along with a Q&A session about his works. This event will start at at around 10:00 am, with a lunch break, and an afternoon of poetry. At 6:00 p.m. there will be a coffee-house presentation for high school and college students.
In February 2005, the second annual "Illuminating Langston" will take place. This year's focus will be presenting Hughes's poetry that Langston wrote with the blues and jazz in mind. Artistic Director Jacqueline Moscou will again lead celebrated musicians and artists in Seattle in performing poems from the "Blues in Stereo" and "Jazztet Muted." Acclaimed musicians Floyd Standifer, Julius Priester, and Clarence Acox are among those who will perform.
On November 21, 2004 , the two churches will convene again to discuss Hughes's The Big Sea . A panel of university professors will discuss various aspects of Hughes's life and writing. A reception will mark the end of the poetry circle sessions.
On November 17, 2004, the group will discuss selections from The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes. Jerry Ward Jr. will lead the discussion for both sessions.
In January and February 2005, the group will read Not w ithout Laughter. The final book discussion event will be held in the spring.