1. My Notes
Activity
by Langston Hughes
The instructor said,
Go home and write
a page tonight.
And let that page come out of you —
Then, it will be true.
I wonder if it’s that simple?
I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem.
I went to school there, then Durham, then here
to this college on the hill above Harlem.
I am the only colored student in my class.
The steps from the hill lead down to Harlem,
through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas,
Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y,
the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator
up to my room, sit down, and write this page:
55
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P o e t r y
A b o u t t h e A u t h o r
Langston Hughes (1902–1967) is one of the great African
American poets of the twentieth century. While working
as a busboy in a Washington, D.C., hotel, Hughes offered
his writing to poet Vachel Lindsay, who was so impressed
that he helped launch Hughes’s career. Over the next
fifty years, Hughes wrote poetry, plays, and translations,
and edited anthologies that voiced the concerns and
experiences of black Americans.
Culture and Literature1.8
SUGGESTED LEARNING STRATEGIES: Close Reading, Marking the Text,
TWIST, Previewing, Predicting, Rereading, Drafting
While reading, examine how
the text features of this poem
(for example, indentation,
stanzas, italics, and single
lines) advance the author’s
theme and voice.
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Rhyme Scheme:
AABB
Word w/
connotation. Why
"colored" instead of
"negro" or "black"?
Repetition: place or
stigma? Pride?
Symbol?
Crossroads,
choice, question?

2. continued
My Notes
Activity 1.8
It’s not easy to know what is true for you or me
at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I’m what
I feel and see and hear. Harlem, I hear you:
hear you, hear me — we two — you, me talk on this page.
(I hear New York, too.) Me — who?
Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.
I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.
I like a pipe for a Christmas present,
or records — Bessie, bop, or Bach.
I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like
the same things other folks like who are other races.
So will my page be colored that I write?
Being me, it will not be white.
But it will be
a part of you, instructor.
You are white —
yet a part of me, as I am a part of you.
That’s American.
Sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be a part of me.
Nor do I often want to be a part of you.
Be we are, that’s true!
As I learn from you,
I guess you learn from me —
although you’re older — and white —
and somewhat more free.
This is my page for English B.
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Unit 1 • Voices of Modern Culture 19
Repetition, like
echo - almost
conversational
Internal rhyme -
reflecting internal
conflict? Me-who?
Alliteration: Bessie, bop, Bach -
sounds musical - reflecting
what he's saying about music
Starts emphasizing
color and race -
connotation
Rhyme: write, white; Also paper
symbolic of identity?
Repetition: emphasis on how they are
connected, whether wanted or not.
Repetition: white
Theme: we learn from each other,
connected, despite the differences and
similarities
Transition shows
contrast
Rhyme: free, B - maybe ending rhyme reflects how
they are alike, even if they're different (rhymes look
different, but sound similar)

3. continued
TWIST Response Textual Support
Tone: the attitude of the speaker
toward the subject
Word Choice: the specific
words and their connotations,
associations, or emotional impact
Imagery: the sense impressions
(sound, smell, sight, taste, and
touch)
Style: the author’s use of
language, including figurative
language and poetic devices such
as repetition, rhyme, and rhythm
Theme: the author’s insight
about life
Thesis Statement:
Activity 1.8
Culture and Literature
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