A collectible hardcover edition of our greatest African American poet's award-winning first
novel about a black boy's coming-of-age in a largely white Kansas town featuring an
introduction by National Book Award finalist Angela Flournoy A Penguin Classic When first
published in 1930 Not Without Laughter established Langston Hughes as not only a brilliant
poet and leading light of the Harlem Renaissance but also a gifted novelist. In telling the
story of Sandy Rogers a young African American boy in small-town Kansas and of his
family--his mother Annjee a housekeeper for a wealthy white family his irresponsible father
Jimboy who plays the guitar and travels the country in search of employment his strong-willed
grandmother Hager who clings to her faith his Aunt Tempy who marries a rich man and his
Aunt Harriet who struggles to make it as a blues singer--Hughes gives the longings and
lineaments of black life in the early twentieth century an important place in the history of
racially divided America. Penguin Vitae--loosely translated as "Penguin of one's life"--is a
deluxe hardcover series from Penguin Classics celebrating a dynamic and diverse landscape of
classic fiction and nonfiction from seventy-five years of classics publishing. Penguin Vitae
provides readers with beautifully designed classics that have shaped the course of their lives
and welcomes new readers to discover these literary gifts of personal inspiration intellectual
engagement and creative originality.
