Du Bose Heyward wrote in the New York Herald Tribune in 1926: Langston Hughes, although only twenty-four years old, is already conspicuous in the group of Negro intellectuals who are dignifying Harlem with a genuine art life. . . .
Smudge stick. A smudge stick is a bundle of dried herbs, usually bound with string into a small bundle. The herbs are later burned as part of a ritual or ceremony. Plants that are often used include sage and cedar.
Smudging, or the act of burning herbs and flowers, has been done for thousands of years. Tracing back its origins to ancient cultures such as the Native Americans Indians, smudging cleanses energy through the use of something called a smudge stick. When a smudge stick is burnt, it gives off resinous smoke that burns up toxic energy, restoring people and places back to harmonious balance.