Journal of Publishing and Criticism
JPC, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2026, pp.9-25
Print ISSN: 3107-0892; Online ISSN: 3107-0906
Journal homepage: https://www.jpcjournal.com
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64058/jpc260102tslhp
“The Third Space” in Langston Hughes’s Poetry: A Path to the African American Identification
Song Zhiyan, Lei Yanni
Abstract: As the Poet Laureate of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes focuses on African Americans’ culture and identity, and attempts to construct a multidimensional African Americans’ identification through his poetry. The concepts of hybridity and the third space proposed by Homi K. Bhabha are effective strategies for breaking binary oppositions and cultural hegemony which are employed in Hughes’s poetry to challenge the entrenched authorities, make the voices of marginal African American heard and show the negotiation between different cultures. The hybridity is demonstrated in poetic structure, language and narrative, which create the third space. This space serves not to define a static African Americans’ identity, but to show African Americans’ collective memories and rich culture, and then articulate African Americans’ dynamic identification and to envision a multicultural American future. Hughes’s poetic strategies demonstrate African Americans’ self-affirmation. His poetry, rooted in his ethnic pride, provides a solid cultural foundation for African Americans’ resilient, dynamic, and dignified identification.
Keywords: Langston Hughes; Hybridity; The Third Space; Postcolonialism
Author Biographies: Song Zhiyan, is a Grade 2024 postgraduate for MA degree in English Language and Literature at School of Foreign Languages, Sun Yat-sen University. E-mail: songzhy33@mail2.sysu.edu.cn. Lei Yanni (Corresponding Author), Associate Professor at Department of English, School of Foreign Languages, Sun Yat-sen University. Research interests: English poetry and poetics, the study on novel and drama, and the study on literary and cultural theories. E-mail: leiyanni@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
标题：兰斯顿·休斯诗歌中的“第三空间”：非裔美国人的身份认同之路
摘要：作为哈莱姆文艺复兴时期的桂冠诗人，兰斯顿·休斯关注非裔美国人的文化与身份，并着力通过其诗歌构建一种多维度的非裔美国人认同。霍米巴巴所提出的混杂性与第三空间概念则为理解休斯的诗歌策略提供了批判性的视角。休斯的诗歌有效地打破了二元对立和文化霸权，挑战了根深蒂固的白人权威，使得被边缘化的非裔美国人得以发声，进而展现不同文化之间的协商。混杂性体现在休斯诗歌的结构、语言和叙事三个维度，进而创造了第三空间。该空间并非为了定义一种静态单一的非裔美国人身份，而是为了展示非裔美国人的集体经验和丰富的文化，进而展现非裔美国人对自我身份的持续探索和动态的身份认同构建，并且展望着一个多元文化并存的未来美国社会。休斯的诗歌策略展示着非裔美国人的自我肯定，这份植根于民族自豪感的创作，为该群体构建一种富有韧性、动态和尊严的认同提供了坚实的文化基石。
关键词：兰斯顿·休斯；混杂性；第三空间；后殖民主义
作者简介：宋芷妍，中山大学外国语学院2024级英语语言文学硕士研究生。电邮：songzhy33@mail2.sysu.edu.cn。雷艳妮（通讯作者），中山大学外国语学院英语系副教授研究方向：英语诗歌与诗学、小说与戏剧研究、文学与文化理论研究。电邮：leiyanni@mail.sysu.edu.cn。
Received: 30 Sept 2025 / Revised: 21 Apr 2026 / Accepted: 29 Apr 2026 / Published online: 30 Apr 2026 / Print published: 30 May 2026.
