The Harlem Renaissance (Program #4)

A remarkable thing about Folkways is the number of significant movements in the 20th century with which it was in tune. One such movement is the African-American poetry scene, starting with the Harlem Renaissance that began in the 1920s. The Harlem Renaissance is a rather loose term that identifies a flourishing of poetry and prose to emerge from Harlem. The poetry ranges greatly stylistically. But what unites all these poets, including Langston Hughes and Claude McKay, is that they focus in some way on the experience of the African-American in the U.S. Smithsonian Folkways: Sounds to Grow On is a 26-part series hosted by Michael Asch that features the original recordings of Folkways records.