Langston Hughes, The Heart of Harlem

Langston Hughes, born James Mercer Langston Hughes was a poet, columnist, novelist, and playwright.  He is best known for his writing during the Harlem Renaissance.  He was born in Joplin, Missouri to parents of mixed racial heritage.  His parents split at an early age and he spent most of his youth with his grandmother in Lawrence, Kansas until her death.  Hughes was very disturbed at not being able to live with neither his mother nor father in his youth, and this caused him to become a very insecure adult. 

Hughes began writing while in high school in Cleveland, Ohio, and he won awards for his writing.  He wrote for the school newspaper and began writing short stories, plays, and poetry, and he had his works published in the Central High Monthly.  With the guidance of his high school English teachers, his writing began to develop into the exemplary work that Hughes would provide to his worldwide audience. 

After graduating from high school, Hughes attempted living with his father after getting his father to agree to pay for his college.  Hughes remained with his father for a little over a year but eventually left because of the racism he endured while living with his father.   

After earning a B.A. degree from Lincoln University in 1929, he moved to Harlem, where he lived out his life.  Langston Hughes was called the “Poet Laureate of the Negro Race,” in his late years.  He worked diligently to give a face to his race.  Hughes died on May 22, 1967 after surgery related to prostate cancer. 

Hughes’ writing depicted the common person of the Harlem Renaissance.  He promoted racial consciousness and nationalism among African culture.  Celebrated works included, “The Negro Speaks Rivers,” “Not Without Laughter,” and “The Ways of White Folks,” just to name a few. 

Works Cited

Berry, Faith. Langston Hughes: Before and Beyond Harlem. New York: Citadel Press, 1992. p. 1

Leach, Laurie F. Langston Hughes: A Biography. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2004.  Internet resource.  pp. 2-4

Litwack, Leon. Black Leaders of the Nineteenth Century. Urbana, Ill., Univ. of Illinois Press, 1991.   pp. 106-111