Joy in the Woods

“Ballads of Lenin” by Langston Hughes (1933)

An example of how the Harlem Renaissance was influenced by the working-class vision of Communism as practiced in Russia, this poem, among many Communist-leaning poems penned by Hughes, one of the leading lights of the Harlem Renaissance, celebrates the idealism of the deceased Vladimir Lenin. The poem, although a bit sketchy with history, depicts different workers from different ethnicities paying homage at the marble tomb of one of Communism’s most influential philosophers.

“Talking Union” by Pete Seeger (1941)

McKay’s poem is often heralded as one of the earliest working-class poems in the American canon. Its influence can be seen in the rise of proletariat poems (most set to music) that appeared during the Depression. Here, folk poet icon Pete Seeger crafts a blues standard to encourage workers to rise up and join unions as a way to preserve their dignity. By comparison, McKay’s poem lacks this resilient energy—his worker must be content to dream while he sacrifices his very soul to the company. “You’ll win,” Seeger tells the workers, “take it easy, but take it.”

“The Tired Worker” Claude McKay (1919)

Written at the same time as “Joy in the Woods,” this poem, a classically crafted sonnet, depicts the exhausted worker dragging himself home after a thankless day on the job.