美国国家公共电台 NPR Langston Hughes' Harlem Home May Get Its Own Renaissance — As An Art Center

Langston Hughes' Harlem Home May Get Its Own Renaissance¹ — As An Art Center

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Langston Hughes was the heart and soul of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and '30s.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LANGSTON HUGHES: I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes, but I laugh and eat well and grow strong.

SIMON: He lived in a brownstone on East 127th Street for the last 20 years of his life until he died in 1967. The building is a national landmark², but it's mostly been empty for decades. Now, Harlem has become hip³ again in recent years. The neighborhood that's so emblematic⁴ of African-American experience is becoming upscale. A group of people in Harlem wants to keep Langston Hughes' former home from becoming just one more high-end co-op. They're raising money to try to lease the building as an art center. Renee Watson is a children's author in Harlem. She's executive director of the I, Too, Collective. She joins us from New York. Thanks so much for being with us.

RENEE WATSON: Thank you for having me.

SIMON: What'd you like this building to do for Harlem?

WATSON: Well, I would love to preserve Langston's legacy⁵ and build on it. I think it's important for the young people who still live in Harlem to know that in their own neighborhood, blocks away from where they're playing basketball, where they're walking to school, that a literary giant lived there and not just lived there but created there and was a part of the community.

SIMON: I gather that the top floor of this three-story brownstone was Hughes' workroom.

WATSON: Yes.

SIMON: What did he write up there?

WATSON: (Laughter) Well, he wrote - everything from 47 until he passed away - so the last 20 years of his work - was most likely written there or inspired while he was living in that space, which includes a lot of pieces that he wrote for The Chicago Tribune and a lot of his short stories. The play that he wrote actually was what got him to be able to afford to buy that place, which I think is pretty amazing that he was one of the first African-American authors to support himself through his writing. That play was called "Street Scene."

SIMON: Is it a officially registered national landmark?

WATSON: So it is. I don't know if this is true for everywhere, but in New York that deals with the facade⁶ of the building. So it has a plaque⁷, yes. The street is named after him, but that doesn't dictate⁸ what happens on the inside as far as how it's used.

SIMON: And, Ms. Watson, what's happening in Harlem?

WATSON: What's happening in Harlem? So much beauty, so much vibrancy⁹, but change is happening as well. And we've been talking a lot about what it means to embrace newness but also hold on to legacy, hold on to culture and not erase¹⁰ the actual places that we believe are sacred spaces of the Harlem Renaissance. So, you know, gentrification is happening in Harlem, and it's bittersweet. I think as a community people are feeling worried.

SIMON: How much would the building cost to buy?

WATSON: It's been said that it's $3 million.

SIMON: And I gather you've negotiated with the owner to lease the property.

WATSON: Yes. So the beauty in all of this is the house wasn't for sale, and I walk past it often. I don't live too far from his home. We called and just let her know what we wanted to do in the space, and she was really excited about that vision. So, yes, we are in the process of raising money to sign a lease that would be a three-year lease.

SIMON: And how much is your target?

WATSON: Our target is $150,000.

SIMON: Would you like the city to buy the space at some point - or they'd have to kind of dictate the programs, though, then.

WATSON: Right. So I'm in conversations and reaching out to city officials and to Harlem officials and trying to think about what partnerships¹¹ can look like with the city for sure. I don't want this to be my space. This is a space for the people.

SIMON: What do you hope in the spirit and the legacy of Langston Hughes catches fire?

WATSON: I hope young people feel seen and heard. There's something about Langston's poetry, when I was a child reading it, that was a mirror for me, a way of me being able to see my family, my church members, my community members. I think the beauty of Langston's work is he definitely talked about oppression and injustice¹², but he also humanized our stories and made us everyday people. So especially now when we're talking about black lives mattering and our stories being important that young people will come to this space and feel seen and heard and valued and that they have a voice. So we're really hoping to have it be a hub for artists of color and artists from underrepresented communities in the creative arts.

SIMON: Renee Watson is executive director of I, Too, artist collective in Harlem. Thanks so much for being with us.

WATSON: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

HUGHES: Tomorrow, I'll be at the table when company comes. Nobody'll dare say to me eat in the kitchen then. Besides, they'll see how beautiful we are and be ashamed. I, too, am America.

SIMON: Langston Hughes reading from his poem "I, Too."

1 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

2 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

3 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

4 emblematic   

adj.象征的，可当标志的；象征性

参考例句：

• The violence is emblematic of what is happening in our inner cities. 这种暴力行为正标示了我们市中心贫民区的状况。
• Whiteness is emblematic of purity. 白色是纯洁的象征。 来自辞典例句

5 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

6 facade   

n.(建筑物的)正面，临街正面；外表

参考例句：

• The entrance facade consists of a large full height glass door.入口正面有一大型全高度玻璃门。
• If you look carefully,you can see through Bob's facade.如果你仔细观察，你就能看穿鲍勃的外表。

7 plaque   

n.饰板，匾，(医)血小板

参考例句：

• There is a commemorative plaque to the artist in the village hall.村公所里有一块纪念该艺术家的牌匾。
• Some Latin words were engraved on the plaque. 牌匾上刻着些拉丁文。

8 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？

9 vibrancy   

n.活跃；震动

参考例句：

• I like the vibrancy of her character.我喜欢她的活泼性格。
• Tom felt himself being drawn towards her vibrant personality. 汤姆感觉自己被她充满朝气的个性所吸引。

10 erase   

v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹

参考例句：

• He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
• Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。

11 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

12 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。