Describes how the twentieth-century African American poet Langston Hughes affirms his vocation as a writer through the composition of his famous 1921 poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers.".
A biography of the poet who devoted almost fifty years to writing about what it feels like to be African American and to encouraging the careers of young African American writers.
Portrays the African American writer and man of letters Langston Hughes, his Midwest roots, his college days (already a recognized poet), his travels, permanent settlement in Harlem, and involvement in the Harlem Renaissance.