[UD_EXHIBITION_ITEM]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alice Walker, \u201cTurning Into Love: Some Thoughts on Surviving and Meeting Langston Hughes.\u201d Callaloo<\/em>, no. 41, 1989, pp. 663\u2013666. JSTOR<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The item above is a transcription of Alice Walker\u2019s speech, \u201cTurning into Love,\u201d which was published in 1989, twenty-two years after Hughes\u2019 death. Walker originally presented \u201cTurning into Love\u201d during the City College of New York\u2019s 1989 Langston Hughes Festival. In the speech, Walker addressed the impact Hughes had on her life. She described her first meeting with him in 1967, as well as the continued support he offered her throughout their mentorship and friendship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Walker described Hughes as \u201ca human sun\u201d showing unconcealed delight at her life and work. He sent her a card at her wedding and supported her work. Even after Hughes\u2019 death, Walker described his memory as a guiding light to her. One of her first short stories, \u201cTo Hell With Dying,\u201d was published by Hughes in his 1967 anthology, The Best Short Stories by Negro Writers: An Anthology from 1899 to the Present<\/em>, and gave her a start as a writer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [UD_EXHIBITION_ITEM]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Postcard, Langston Hughes, \u201cPoetry and Reminiscences,\u201d American Museum of Negro History, Boston, Massachusetts, April 9, 1967, Langston Hughes ephemera collection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This postcard advertises Hughes\u2019 scheduled appearance at the American Museum of Negro History in Boston, including a book party for The Best Short Stories by Negro Writers<\/em>. Walker later went on to win the Pulitzer for The Color Purple<\/em>, becoming the first African American woman to win that award. In the most remarkable passage of her speech, Walker wrote, \u201cBy the time I met him, Langston Hughes had turned into love.\u201d It is a fascinating sentiment, a transformation that she describes in such an affecting way as only Walker can: \u201csome of us, as we grow and suffer and struggle and age \u2013 turn into love. . . . [W]e let go of everything that does not matter.\u201d This sentiment embodies Hughes, not just as a writer in his time, but as a cultural and personal icon and mentor who shaped the lives of many writers and activists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly enough, despite this speech being a glowing testament to his character and love, Walker had no intentions of sugar-coating Hughes\u2019 life. She referred to an excerpt from his autobiography, in which he describes his tumultuous friendship with Zora Neal Hurston, acclaimed author of Their Eyes Were Watching God<\/em> and a seminal figure of the Harlem Renaissance. In this excerpt, Hughes quipped that \u201cgirls are funny creatures,\u201d in reference to the messy and public falling out he had with Hurston. Walker responded, \u201cI am thankful that twenty-five years after writing that line, Langston, on meeting me, showed no trace of thinking \u2018girls are funny creatures,\u2019 but rather responded to me as if I were his own child, my future as a person and a writer his own concern.\u201d This serves to make the rest of Walker\u2019s speech all the more remarkable. She spoke honestly about Hughes, flaws and all \u2013 and yet in her memories he still resounded as this titan of kindness and understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortly after the event announced on this postcard, Langston Hughes died on May 22, 1967, in New York City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n -Nehuen Aon Cortassa (Class of 2021)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [UD_EXHIBITION_ITEM] Alice Walker, \u201cTurning Into Love: Some Thoughts on Surviving and Meeting Langston Hughes.\u201d Callaloo, no. 41, 1989, pp. 663\u2013666. JSTOR The item above is a transcription of Alice Walker\u2019s speech, \u201cTurning into Love,\u201d which was published in 1989, twenty-two years after Hughes\u2019 death. Walker originally presented \u201cTurning into Love\u201d during the City College of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-exhibition.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-100","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/langston-hughes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/100"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/langston-hughes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/langston-hughes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/langston-hughes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/langston-hughes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/langston-hughes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":312,"href":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/langston-hughes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/100\/revisions\/312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/langston-hughes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}