In his poem “Johannesburg Mines,” after stating the shocking number of native Africans working in the mines, Langston Hughes poses the question, “What kind of poem / Would you / Make out of that?” (lines 4-6).
With Hughes’ poem in mind, write a 1,300-word essay about either “A Bronzeville Mother Loiters in Mississippi. Meanwhile, A Mississippi Mother Burns Bacon” by Gwendolyn Brooks, the poem we read from Marilyn Nelson’s book of poetry, A Wreath for Emmett Till, or “Mississippi-1955” by Langston Hughes. In your essay, analyze “what kind of poem” the author wrote about the murder of Emmett Till.
Your central claim should be an argument about why the poet depicts or represents the murder in the way they do; think about the choices they have made in constructing their poem. Analyze how the poem works and/or what it is intended to do. Be sure to quote from the poem and to refer to specific aspects or parts of the poem as you build your argument.
