Langston+Hughes

Langston Hughes was an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance. He was a writer, a poet, a columnist, and essayist. Although he done just about everything, he was truly an inspiration to the many black writers of his day, and many to come. He was born in the South, February 1, 1902. They say he was either born in Alabama, or Missouri. His life was crazy to some standards, and his mom left his dad and him. His dad moved to Mexico so did him, and lived there for a while. His dad wanted him to not write. He discouraged him from writing all the time that they were in Mexico. When he got the chance he moved. He ended up graduating from a high school in Illinois. He went to study at Columbia University in New York. He dropped out and soon lived paycheck to paycheck by doing odd jobs. His first poem was in 1926, and first novel, as well. He graduated college in 1929, at Lincoln College, the first black college. He started working at the New York post as a columnist. He started to travel the world. He went to places like Russia, USSR at the time, and found the idea of communism a good one. He came back to New York after a couple of years traveling the world; gathering ideas and writing styles. His career really took off when he was a columnist in the New York post. Many African-Americans read that newspaper, which made him a big figure in their lives. Although he didn’t want to write poems at first, he found a liking in them as he did more. He soon mainly became known for doing poems. People would __fill concert halls__ just to hear them. Although he seemed perfect, everyone has their faults. He married the lady that he said their relationship was formal. It went wrong from the beginning to the end. His wife was crazy and gave him money all the time. He said that it was a formal relationship at first, and some say that she didn’t think of it that way. When they got divorced she called him things like ungrateful because he wouldn’t accept her money anymore. He died in 1967, after a lifetime full of achievements. He inspired many people with his deep writing and sometimes humorous writing. You could probably even say he was one of the greatest African-American writers of his generation that inspired generations to come.



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Smith, Jessie" Notable Black American Men" USA,Gale,1998 "Langston Hughes" Notable Black American Men" 2011, Gale biography in context, 2.16.11 "Langston Hughes" Notable Black American Men,1998, Encyclopedia World Biography,2.16.11 JCD

Langston Hughes

** Background **

James Langston Hughes born on February 1st 1902, when he was still a young child he and his parents escaped to Mexico to leave the racism. Shortly after there was an earth quake and his mother took him and left. They left his father and they would never be together as a family again. Soon Langston learned that not all whites are mean. He saw that some whites would be nice to him and other black class mates. His teacher made a row just for blacks he announced as Jim Crow Row it and parents got it changed. But his teacher still would still say racial slurs.

He only saw his dad once he hated him to his dad nothing was fast enough for him. Plus his dad hated African Americans. On the train he kept on saying racial slurs when they would pass American Americans on the train to Mexico. One morning when Langston was eating his breakfast. His dad said hurry up then he felt this burning pain inside of him to hit his dad. Langston fell over and sick his dad asked if he was coming to Mexico City. Langston said no his dad left then when he came back and found that he was in the same position he was in when he left he went to the hospital. Langston found out it cost his dad 20 dollars a day which was a whole lot of money back then he was in no rush to leave.

About Him

Langston Hughes achieved fame as a poet during the Harlem Renaissance, but those who label him a Harlem Renaissance poet have restricted his fame to only one genre. In addition to his work as a poet, Hughes was a novelist, he wrote for news papers and playwright and though he is most closely associated with Harlem, his world travels influenced his writing in a profound way. Langston Hughes followed the example of Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of his early poetic influences, to become the second African American to earn a living as a writer. His long and distinguished career produced volumes of diverse genres and inspired the work of countless other African American writers. He traveled the world. He went to Russia and found the idea of communism a good one. He came back to New York after a couple of years traveling the world and found ideas and writing styles. His career really started when he was a columnist in the New York post. Many African-Americans read that newspaper, which made him a popular in their lives. He soon mainly became known for doing poems.

In New York Hughes's play about miscegenation in the South, opened on Broadway in 1935 to hostile reviews but enjoyed a long run. Several other plays by Hughes were produced in the 1930s at the Karamu Playhouse in Cleveland. He spent several months as a war correspondent in Spain during 1937. Returning to New York in 1938, he founded the Harlem Suitcase Theater, which staged his radical drama //Don't You Want to Be Free?// In 1939, desperately needing money, he worked on a Hollywood film, //Way Down South//, which was criticized for its depiction of slavery. However, he was able to settle various debts and write an autobiography



[|langston hughs poetry] Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, 2006 Encyclopedia of World Biogaphy, December 12, 1998

By:Stewart