© 2026 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The Power of Langston Hughes

Photo of Langston Hughes is courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Carl Van Vechten Collection.

The Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre will present the free performance of some of the Semple stories, and a selection of Hughes' poetry at the Kansas City Public Library on Sunday, January 14th at the Plaza Branch (SOLD OUT, check for waiting list) and Thursday, January 18th at the Central Library. The shows are part a series of script-in-hand performances at the library this year. By Sylvia Maria Gross

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/national/local-national-557028.mp3

Kansas City, MO – Poet Langston Hughes created the character of Jesse B Semple in the 1940s for a series of columns in the Chicago Defender, an African American newspaper. Glenn North of the American Jazz Museum is co-directing the performance of Something Semple: The Power of Langston Hughes.

KCUR is here for Kansas City, because Kansas City is here for KCUR.

Your support makes KCUR's work possible — from reporting that keeps officials accountable, to storytelling that connects our community. You can make sure the future of local journalism is strong.