James Mercer Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri February 1st, 1902.
. Langston can hardly recall his father because he was so young. Langston's father decided to move to Mexico shortly after his parents divorce. Hughes was raised by his grandmother until the age of thirteen. He then moved to Lincoln, Illinois, to live with his mother and her husband, before the family eventually settled in Cleveland, Ohio.
Then it started...Hughes began writing poetry. After graduating from high school, he spent a year in Mexico followed by a year at Columbia University in New York City. During this time, he held part time jobs such as assistant cook, launderer, and busboy.
Langston did a bunch of moving. 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 decided that he had taken enough college and completed his college education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania three years later. In 1930 his first novel, Not Without Laughter, (Knopf, 1930) won the Harmon gold medal for literature.
Langston Hughes is known for his portrayals for black life from the twenties leading up into the sixties. He is also known for his engagement with the world of jazz and the influences it had on his writing. He wanted to connect with readers by writing about suffering, love of music, laughter, and language.
Langston Hughes died of complications from cancer on May 22, 1967, in New York City. He left us with a wide range or poetry, he will always be remembered.
- Sources:
- https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/langston-hughes
- http://www.biography.com/people/langston-hughes-9346313
- http://www.poemhunter.com/langston-hughes/