Visiting Langston

Willie Perdomo

In Visiting Langston, a first-person story told in conversational verse, a young African American girl goes with her daddy to visit Langston Hughes’ house in Harlem. She praises Hughes’ poems, which sound to her like jazz, and talks about his trips to Africa. At his house she sees his smiling photographs and discovers a special connection to him. She writes poetry, too—hip-hop style. Her poems celebrate her love for her family and her community. She’s proud she’s from “Harlem world” and a “Harlem girl.”