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LAWRENCE -- C-SPAN plans to air segments of the February symposium celebrating the life and legacy of Langston Hughes at the University of Kansas as part of the channel's launch of the American Writers II: The 20th Century. The series will air at 2 p.m. CST Sunday, March 31.
The American Writers: A Journey Through History series, which began in spring 2001, was postponed following Sept. 11. The March 31 launch begins part two of the series with a live television program from Harlem focusing on Harlem Renaissance writers Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes.
When Mark Farkas, executive producer for the series, learned about KU's February 2002 international symposium, " Let America Be America Again," celebrating the life and work of Langston Hughes, he arranged to have portions of the symposium taped for use on the series.
Portions of acclaimed actor Danny Glover's Feb. 7 "An Evening with Langston" program at the Lied Center are scheduled for part of the broadcast. C-SPAN plans to announce more program details later.
Programs will air live from 2 to 4 p.m. CST each Sunday and will re-air at 7 p.m. CST Fridays. Additional programs about the writer's life and times will accompany the Friday evening telecast.
The 15-week special series will produce 30 hours of live programming examining the life and times of 18 writers who chronicled or influenced the course of our nation's history. The format will mix historians, biographers and contemporary cultural commentators with a call-in audience live and on location at historic sites connected with the week's featured authors.
Hughes (1902-1967) lived in Lawrence during his childhood years. His grandparents were abolitionists who had moved to Lawrence after the Civil War. His mother, Carolina "Carrie" Mercer Langston was born on the family's farm near Lawrence. Before her marriage to James Nathaniel Hughes, she attended KU as a part-time student in 1894 and 1895.
More information about the series and writers is available at www.americanwriters.org.
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