The Negro Speaks of Rivers

Langston Hughes's poem 'The Negro Speaks of Rivers' is a powerful expression of the African-American experience, written when he was just seventeen. Artist E.B. Lewis enhances the poem with his watercolor illustrations, paying tribute to Hughes's timeless work. The poem, which uses rivers as a metaphor for the journey of black people in America, was first published in 1921 and is considered one of Hughes's most famous works. Langston Hughes has long been acknowledged as the voice, and his poem, 'The Negro Speaks of Rivers', the song, of the Harlem Renaissance. Although he was only seventeen when he composed it, Hughes already had the insight to capture in words the strength and courage of black people in America. Artist E.B. Lewis acts as interpreter and visionary, using watercolor to pay tribute to Hughes's timeless poem, a poem that every child deserves to know.