The Queer Nightlife of Harlem
Faculty Mentor(s) Name(s)
Sidonia Serafini
Abstract
The Harlem Renaissance was a time for Black culture to shine. Additionally, it was the awakening of queer life. The nightlife of Harlem included drag shows, speakeasies, house parties, and most popularly, nightclubs. Harlem was described as a “queer paradise,” the speakeasies offering “another opportunity for queer communion” (Stokes 58). From club to bar and house to apartment, queer culture was unashamedly itself. Different queer writers at the time use night in their writings to freely express their queerness, some more subtly than the others. Langston Hughes was less direct with queer themes, while writer Richard Bruce Nugent was known for his explicitly queer works. Both of these writers are described by Mason Stokes as being on “a preliminary roll call of queer Harlem” (61). The nightlife of Harlem allowed queer writers a time of possibility to freely express themselves, in real life and in their writings. This presentation explores how Hughes and Nugent both use nightlife to break the societal limitations about sexuality at the time. In particular, I analyze Nugent’s short story, “Smoke, Lilies and Jade,” published in the Harlem Renaissance magazine, Fire!!, and Hughes’s poems “Cafe: 3AM” and “Cat and the Saxophone (2 AM).” For example, Hughes contrasts the culture of various times of day to subtly express that queerness is as normal as heterosexuality. Nugent, on the other hand, specifically used nighttime to highlight queer spaces and queer love. Ultimately, these writers provide examples of how Harlem created a space for celebrating queer self-expression. Harlem Renaissance, queer writers, Langston Hughes, Richard Bruce Nugent
Start Date
27-3-2024 4:00 PM
End Date
27-3-2024 4:08 PM
Location
Arts and Sciences 2-70
The Queer Nightlife of Harlem
Arts and Sciences 2-70
The Harlem Renaissance was a time for Black culture to shine. Additionally, it was the awakening of queer life. The nightlife of Harlem included drag shows, speakeasies, house parties, and most popularly, nightclubs. Harlem was described as a “queer paradise,” the speakeasies offering “another opportunity for queer communion” (Stokes 58). From club to bar and house to apartment, queer culture was unashamedly itself. Different queer writers at the time use night in their writings to freely express their queerness, some more subtly than the others. Langston Hughes was less direct with queer themes, while writer Richard Bruce Nugent was known for his explicitly queer works. Both of these writers are described by Mason Stokes as being on “a preliminary roll call of queer Harlem” (61). The nightlife of Harlem allowed queer writers a time of possibility to freely express themselves, in real life and in their writings. This presentation explores how Hughes and Nugent both use nightlife to break the societal limitations about sexuality at the time. In particular, I analyze Nugent’s short story, “Smoke, Lilies and Jade,” published in the Harlem Renaissance magazine, Fire!!, and Hughes’s poems “Cafe: 3AM” and “Cat and the Saxophone (2 AM).” For example, Hughes contrasts the culture of various times of day to subtly express that queerness is as normal as heterosexuality. Nugent, on the other hand, specifically used nighttime to highlight queer spaces and queer love. Ultimately, these writers provide examples of how Harlem created a space for celebrating queer self-expression. Harlem Renaissance, queer writers, Langston Hughes, Richard Bruce Nugent