Le Simplegadi

Nato nel 1902 a Joplin, nel Missouri, Langston Hughes divenne la personalità più significativa del movimento “New Negro”, successivamente chiamato Rinascimento di Harlem. La sua poesia “One-Way Ticket” (1949) rappresenta uno strumento ideale per approfondire il contesto culturale della Grande Migrazione, momento cruciale nel plasmare nuove identità nella comunità afro-americana. “One-Way Ticket” è un notevole esempio di poesia militante, che rappresenta tramite versi semplici ed efficaci la grande voglia di cambiamento della sua generazione. Riconsiderando l’esperienza passata e le conquiste del Rinascimento di Harlem trenta anni dopo, Hughes osservò a posteriori la spinta che aveva portato tantissimi afroamericani a emigrare dal Sud verso città del Nord. Il saggio analizza lo stile minimale di Hughes e la sua manipolazione della forma blues, elementi fondamentali nel trasmettere un nuovo spirito di forza e assertività. Considereremo come la semplicità formale e l’immediatezza di questa poesia condividano con il blues l’obiettivo di lanciare un messaggio politico in grado di generare una trasformazione ideologica all’interno della comunità afroamericana.

DOI: 10.17456/SIMPLE-100

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