Trans-generational, Trans-racial Ruminations

I am coming to the end of the autobiography of Langston Hughes, a Negro poet and writer born in 1902, who was a pivotal artist of the Harlem Renaissance. His memoire, 'I wonder as I wander', takes us from the Caribbean, to the racially divided American South, to the USSR, to the remotest parts of central Asia (remote- depending on where one considers the center of one's world, of course!), back to the calmer waters of San Francisco by way of Japan and China, then on to Spain in the midst of Franco's fascist advancement upon the land.

There have been many passages throughout this memoir that have left me stunned or moved in a most organic way. There I would be- sitting in Cafe Ellas in the inner suburbs of Sydney- more than 70 years since Hughes' travels came to pass, and yet, somehow, his observations on the absurdity or inspirational quality of human behaviour, would grind me to a standstill.

On Theater and War

Langston Hughes writes of some of the Spanish artists of the 1930s, who were continuing to resist the fascist onslaught upon their land:

'Miguel Prieto had established a satirical puppet theater, La Tarumba, touring the trenches right up to the front lines. But most male members of the Alianza were soldiers and so able to work at art only when in Madrid on leave.'

I compare this to the realities facing many artists that I have come to meet, even briefly, since I have come to live in Sydney in 2004. Let's be frank, most of them are middle-class white students, who when desperate have been known to call on their parents for emergency funds.

That said, I am not about to belittle the efforts that many of them go through to (barely) sustain a diet whilst working to realise their most recent artistic vision. One of them, a friend that I came to know whilst training at PACT Youth Theater in Erskineville, has been on meagre Centrelink(1) unemployment benefits for nearly one year and yet always finds the time, energy and commitment to involve themselves in various theater projects. I would guess that these artistic endeavours sustain him much more effectively than the Centrelink benefits do.

To each, their own sacrifices. To each, their own privileges.



GLOSS-ARY! (1) Australian welfare benefits, obtainable only after deciphering complex bureaucracies and usually barely enough to live on anyway!

Please stay tuned for more ruminations on Langston Hughes, what African-American literature means to a young Chinese-Indonesian woman residing in Sydney... and more!