Return of Simple

Collected humorous stories from Langston Hughes's column in the Chicago Defender, The Return of Simple chronicles the life and struggles of Jesse B. Semple, and are considered by many to represent the author's finest work.

From his familiar perch in a fictional Harlem bar, Simple held forth on a variety of subjects--low wages, interracial marriage, birth control, race riots, the police--then central to Black life in urban America. Many decades later, Simple's concerns are, startlingly, still ours, and his voice, ringing with poetic wisdom and humor, reminds us of the rich African-American folk tradition Langston Hughes helped to revive. This brilliantly edited collection by Akiba Sullivan harper brings together the best stories from a number of Simple volumes long out of print and a few never before published. Its feel is so contemporary and relevant to American life one must marvel at Hughes's ability to pass through the barrier of time.