Episode 113: Langston Hughes, Theme for English B

In this episode, we read one of Langston Hughes’s most famous poems. We discuss Hughes’s conversational style, how he evokes the topography of Harlem, and the way the poetic speaker addresses the complexity of the power dynamics in the classroom.

You can read the text of this poem here.

To learn more about Langston Hughes, visit the Poetry Foundation website.

Thanks to Harold Ober Associates for granting us permission to read and discuss this poem.

View on Fireside
August 27, 2026
24:36


Authors

Joanne Diaz
Abram Van Engen