Langston Hughes During his lifetime, he was known as "the poet laureate of Harlem." What this meant, is that he was worthy of honor and he excelled in poetry. In addition, he worked as a journalist, dramatist, essayist, novelist, playwright, lyricist, and children's author during his life. This man’s name is Langston Hughes, however his full name is James Langston Hughes. James Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. Langston was still a baby when his parents separated, and his father went to Mexico. Hughes grew up and went to school in Lawrence, Kansas, where his grandmother helped bring him up. After she died, he and his mother lived in Lincoln, Illinois for a time. Shortly, they moved to Cleveland, Ohio. Langston attended Central High School in Cleveland, Ohio, but began writing poetry in the eighth grade. In the eighth grade, he was selected as Class Poet. During high school, Langston’s father didn't think he would be able to make a living as a writer. His father encouraged him to pursue a more practical career. In 1921, Langston’s father paid his tuition to Columbia University in New York City, on the basis, he studies engineering. After a short time, James dropped out of the program with a B+ average. During these times, he continued to write poetry. His first published poem was "The Negro Speaks of Rivers". This was also one of his most famous poems and it appeared in Brownie's Book. Langston worked at various jobs, including that of seaman, traveling to Africa and Europe. His first book of poetry was, ‘The Weary Blues’, which was published in 1926. This book made him known among literary people. James went to Lincoln University in Oxford, Pennsylvania, on a scholarship. He received his B.A. degree there in 1929. From then on James earned his living as a writer. 'Not Without Laughter', which was published in 1930, was the novel that won the Harmon gold medal for literature. He also took out a book of poems, in 1932 for children, called, 'The Dream Keeper'. Langston’s play, 'Mulatto' opened on Broadway in 1935. Also, he wrote the lyrics for 'Street Scene', a 1947 opera by Kurt Weill.
Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri on February 1,1902. When he was a young child his parents divorced, and his father moved to Mexico. His grandmother raised him until he was thirteen, when he moved to Illinois to live with his mother and her husband, before the family eventually settled in Ohio. In Illinois was when Hughes began writing poetry. After he graduated from high school, he spent a year in Mexico then a year at Columbia University in New York City. In 1924, he moved
Langston Hughes was born on February 1st, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. He started education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He went on to write and publish his first work, a poem called, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” in Crisis magazine. He then continued his education at Columbia University in New York in 1921. He then lived for sometime in Paris and after returning to the United States, he worked in Washington D.C. as a busboy. Later after that, Vachel Lindsay discovered Hughes literary talents. Hughes talents did not only exist in poetry, he also expanded his talent into music, play writing, and short stories, for example the “Simple” stories. His most prominent work however was written and published during the Harlem Renaissance a time where many other African-American authors were showcasing their work and being published. Hughes however, stood above the rest with his multiple talents and work which spread across the board. The white society of America at the time of the Harlem Renaissance and years after began to label him as a radical. Hughes remained extremely prolific to the very end of his life. Hughes published over forty books, including a series of children’s books. However, if you add his translations and his many anthologies of black writing, the amount of books he has published would double. He remained a controversial figure, having been considered a dangerous radical in the 1940s. Hughes was now, as he retained his lifelong commitment to racial integration, rejected by 1960s radicals considered to be a part of the problem, rather than part of the solution. However, that would not stop Hughes from being recognized as one of the important black a...
Wagner, Jean. "Langston Hughes." _Black Poets of the United States_. Trans. Kenneth Douglas. Chicago: U of Illinois P, 1973, 385-474.
The Harlem Renaissance brought about many great changes. It was a time for expressing the African-American culture. Many famous people began their writing or gained their recognition during this time. The Harlem Renaissance took place during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Many things came about during the Harlem Renaissance; things such as jazz and blues, poetry, dance, and musical theater. The African-American way of life became the “thing.” Many white people came to discover this newest art, dancing, music, and literature. The Great Migration of African-American people from the rural South to the North, and many into Harlem was the cause of this phenomenon. Harlem was originally a Dutch settlement. Harlem became one of the largest African- American communities in the United States, and during the Harlem Renaissance became a center for art and literature. Many great writers came about during this time, one of which was Langston Hughes. Hughes was born in 1902 with the name James Langston Hughes, and died in 1967. He lived most of his adult life in Harlem. He grew up without a stable family environment. His father moved to Mexico, and he never really saw much of him. Hughes was often referred to as “Harlem’s poet” (Haskins 174). Hughes had and still has a great influence on poetry.
“James Mercer Langston Hughes, known as Langston Hughes was born February 2, 1902 in Missouri, to Carrie Hughes and James Hughes.” Years later his parents separated. Langston’s father moved to Mexico and became very successful, as his mother, she moved frequently to find better jobs. As a child growing up, Langston spent most of his childhood living with his grandmother, Mary Langston, in Lawrence, Kansas. Mary Langston was a learned woman and a participant in the Civil Rights Movement.
Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. Growing up, Hughes didn’t really have a stable and permanent family unit. After he was born, his parents separated. His father moved to Mexico, while his mother moved around from place to place, Hughes was predominantly cared for by his grandmother.... ...
Langston Hughes was the second child of schoolteacher Carrie (Caroline) Mercer Langston and James Nathaniel Hughes. He grew up in a series of Midwestern small towns in Missouri. Hughes's father left his family and later divorced Carrie, going to Cuba, and then Mexico, seeking to escape the enduring racism in the United States (“Biography of Langston Hughes”). His grandmother raised him until he was thirteen (as his father had left him and his mother at a young age) when he moved to Lincoln, Illinois, to live with his mother and her husband. They, later, settled in Cleveland, Ohio.
Money was a nagging concern for Hughes throughout his life. While he managed to support himself as a writer, no small task, he was never financially secure. In 1947, however, through his work writing the lyrics for the Broadway musical "Street Scene," Hughes was finally able to earn enough money to purchase a house in Harlem, which had been his dream. He continued to write: "Montage of a Dream Deferred," one of his best known volumes of poetry, was published in 1951; and from that time until his death sixteen years later he wrote more than twenty additional works.
James Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902, in Joplin , Missouri . His parents divorced when he was a small child, and his father moved to Mexico . He was raised by his grandmother until he was thirteen, when he moved to Lincoln , Illinois , to live with his mother and her husband, before the family eventually settled in Cleveland , Ohio . It was in Lincoln , Illinois , that Hughes began writing poetry. Following graduation, he spent a year in Mexico and a year at Columbia University . During these years, he held odd jobs as an assistant cook, launderer, and a busboy, and travelled to Africa and Europe working as a seaman. In November 1924, he moved to Washington , D.C. Hughes's first book of poetry, The Weary Blues, was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1926. He finished his college education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania three years later. In 1930 his first novel, Not Without Laughter, won the Harmon gold medal for literature.
He was born on February 01, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. It was in Lincoln when Hughes began writing poetry(James 7). After graduation from high school, he spent a year in Mexico, followed by a year at Columbia University in New York city. By the time he started attending this school, he had already released his first poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”(Langston 2). After attending this school for a couple of years, he was traveling on the other side of the world doing several different types of jobs. He traveled to Africa and Europe working as a seaman for quite some time. He returned to the United States in 1924, where he had already made a name for himself (Biography 2). Langston Hughes addressed his poetry specifically to African Americans, speaking about their real life situations and feelings towards everything. “Hughes refused to differentiate between his personal experience and the
Rampersad, Arnold. "Hughes, Langston (1902–1967)." African American Writers. Ed. Valerie Smith. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001. 367-78. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. .
Langston Hughes is one of the most famous poets of the Harlem Renaissance. He was born in Mississippi in 1902 and later moved to Ohio where he attended Central High School. When Hughes graduated high school he went to Mexico to visit his father and while crossing the Mississippi River he was inspired to write “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, which was his first published poem when he was eighteen years old. When Hughes returned to the United States in 1924 the Harlem Renaissance was in “full swing”. In 1925 at the age of twenty-three Hughes received an award for his poem “The Weary Blues”, Hughes was famous for incorporating blues and jazz rhymes into his poetry, which is what he did in his poem “The Weary Blues”. Hughes was at a banquet where he received an award for his poem “The Weary Blues” and was asked by a man named Carl Van Vechten if he had enough poems to make a book. Hughes said yes and Van Vechten promised that he would find Hughes ...
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement where African American poets were writing about the racial tension they experience. Most poems came from Harlem and were about the injustices and pride the black community felt. One famous poet was Langston Hughes. Hughes works were about the African American life starting in the twenties. Langston Hughes was the best writer of the Harlem Renaissance. He wanted his poems to the point and simple, rather than complex and wordy. His works were not written in sonnet like many other black poets. He believes that poem from African American poet should be different from their experiences. He wanted to tell real stories that including good and bad times that happen. His poems spoke to people everywhere, especially in the African American community. One of his poems goes over a hard time an African American would have to face when living under a landlord. Through the words in “Ballad of the LandLord” by Langston Hughes, themes of social injustices in the African American communities show the audience how African Americans were treated.
Langston Hughes, an American Poet, is one of the most influential poets in American history. He was a social activist and novelist that spoke up for others that couldn 't and spread his ideas and thoughts amongst America. He was born on February 1,1902 and died at the age of 65 on May 22, 1967. He might of died but his legacy still lives amongst the world, his work still being translated into to todays meaning and being published for all to see. Langston has said that his most influential writers were Paul Laurence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg, and Walt Whitman; all having an influential and deep background in novels and poems. He began orchestrating poems in the late teens and his career took off in the 1920s during the Harlem Renaissance movement. In the span of his career he wrote over 100 books and poems that impacted not only America but the world as well, and his work still does to this day. Langston Hughes wrote
Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. Poems.org stated that Hughes’ parents were divorced when he was young. He was the offspring of two African American parents. His maternal grandmother raised him until he was 13. He then moved in with his mother and her husband in Cleveland. Hughes’ education consisted of studies at Columbia University. Without completing his education there, he left and took up many odd jobs. One such job included travelling abroad as a seaman. In his adult life, he lived in Washington D.C. Hughes’ poetry was influenced by Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Walt Whitman, and Carl Sandburg. His love of jazz music also shaped some of his poetry (Academy of American Poets). Arnold Rampersad comments that “Hughes's sense of dedication was instilled in him most of all by his maternal grandmother.” Ramperstad also concluded that parental neglect impacted Hughes’ poetry. Langston Hughes died of prostate cancer on May 22, 1967. The glaring inequalities Hughes experienced throughout his lifetime became the subject of many of his poems.