Langston Hughes on humor

What happens to a dream deferred?

O, let America be America again —
The land that never has been yet —
And yet must be — the land where every man is free.

I do not need my freedom when I’m dead.
I cannot live on tomorrow’s bread.

Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.

George Bernard Shaw1856–1950The Doctor’s Dilemma (1911), Act V

• Life & Death

Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritation and resentments slip away, and a sunny spirit takes their place.

Mark Twain1835–1910“What Paul Bourget Thinks of Us?” (1897)

You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it.

Bill Cosbyborn 1937