Dreams

“Dreams” is a poem by the Black poet, fiction writer, playwright, and essayist Langston Hughes, and he published the poem in 1923 in the political journal The World Tomorrow. Although the work is not as famous as Hughes’s other poems like “I, Too” (1926) or “Harlem” (1951), it addresses themes that are common in his work—including maintaining hope, the threat of immobility, and determination in the face of adversity.

Hughes viewed himself as a voice for Black people, and he saw how the racist parts of American society could detach Black people from their dreams and leave them stagnant and unfulfilled. During the 1920s and 1930s, many Black artists expressed their dreams and adversities. As several of the creatives lived in or near New York City’s Harlem neighborhood, the abundance of Black art became known as the Harlem Renaissance, and Hughes was one of its leading figures.

At the same time, Hughes’s legacy transcends the movement. His work has made him one of the most famous authors of Western literature. In Montage of a Dream: The Art and Life of Langston Hughes, the Hughes scholars John Edgar Tidwell and Cherly R.