James Langston Hughes And Countee Cullen

Upon first glance the differences between Hughes and Cullen seem very clear. Hughes writes in rhythm, while Cullens writes in rhyme, but those are just the stylistic differences. Hughes and Cullen may write poems in a different style but they both write about similar themes. The time they wrote in was during the Harlem Renaissance, a time period when African Americans were discovering their heritage and trying to become accepted in the once white dominated society. The African Americans had their own cultures and their own style of music and writing but they wanted everyone to know they were still human, that they were still American, even though the differences in color were

Langston Hughes was born on February 2, 1902 in Joplin Missouri, and died on May 22, 1967 in New York, New York. Hughes' African American themes helped to contribute to the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s, where he was a leader. He attended Columbia University and Lincoln University, published his first poem in 1921 and his first book in 1926. Hughes was a poet, playwright, novelist, and more.

One of the things that make Cullen an important poet of this time period was the fact that he not only promoted his own works but those of other black renaissance poets. His own poetry slowed down for a while and he had one book, One Way to Heaven which was comedic in nature. (Brown, 2012) It was his only novel and revolved a lower-class black family and the classes of New York City. He stayed in New York his whole life and taught English, French and creative writing at a Frederick Douglass Junior High School. (Brown, 2012). He published two books of poetry aimed at young blacks during this time.

Here, according to Hughes, he wrote his first verse and was named class poet of his eighth grade class. Hughes lived in Lincoln for only a year, and then had to move to Toledo, Ohio because of a new job his stepfather found. Shortly after his move to Toledo, his stepfather and mother moved on, this time to Chicago, but Hughes stayed in Cleveland in order to finish high school. In Ohio, his high school teachers and classmates recognized his writing talent, and Hughes had his first pieces of verse published in the Central High Monthly, a sophisticated school magazine. Soon he was on the staff of the Monthly, and publishing in the magazine regularly. An English teacher introduced him to poets such as Carl Sandburg and Walk Whitman, and these became Hughes' earliest influences. the summer after Hughes's junior year in high school, his father reentered his life. James Hughes was living in Toluca, Mexico, and wanted his son to join him there. Hughes lived in Mexico for the summer but he did not get along with his father. This conflict, though painful, apparently contributed to Hughes's maturity. When Hughes returned to Cleveland to finish high school, his writing had also matured. Consequently, during his senior year of high school, Langston Hughes began writing poetry of distinction.

James Mercer Langston Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. He grew up mainly in Lawrence, Kansas but also lived in Illinois, Ohio and Mexico. Constantly having to travel he wrote his poem that would make him famous, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”. Having different expectations his parents slit up resulting in him living with his maternal grandmother.

In 1922 Hughes left Columbia University after having taken only a few classes. He moved to Harlem, part of upper Manhattan near the Columbia campus, in November 1924. Harlem was becoming famous for its rich environment for the flowering arts. In 1925 Hughes won first prize in a magazine contest with "Weary Blues," which gained him the attention of many of the writers we now think of as members of the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes published his first book of poems, The Weary Blues, in 1926. The work, though early, is signature in many ways, including its fusion of blues and jazz rhythms with people, especially the musicality of the ordinary daily speech of the African-American dialects.

Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks are regarded as highly influential poets in African American literature, which continues to inspire writers to this day. Langston Hughes is a well-known pioneer of the Harlem Renaissance, a movement in which African Americans in Harlem during post World War I and the early 1930’s began a cultural and artistic revolution. During this time, African American musicians, artists, writers, and poets revolutionized their position in and through many artistic fields of expression. This cultural and artistic revolution redefined how America viewed the African American population, which garnered respect and criticism from Americans nationwide. Gwendolyn Brooks, an African American poet also in the 19th century, was introduced to Langston Hughes at a young age peeking her interest in the Harlem Renaissance that eventually became a foundation and influence in her writing. Gwendolyn Brooks and Langston Hughes share similarities in the writing as she was highly inspired by Langston Hughes, but also share many differences that are responsible for making their pieces of writing unique to other authors and each other.

Langston Hughes’ style of poetry renounced the classical style of poetry and sought out a more jazz and folk rhythm style. Most of Hughes’ poems were written during the Harlem Renaissance, named after the cultural activity African Americans participated in, such as: literature, music, art, theatre, and political thinking. William Blake, on the other hand, was a nonconformist who was associated with the leading radical thinkers of his day. Although, considered a lyric poet and a visionary, Blake’s poetry was not read by many, yet he still believed that his poetry could be understood by common people and was determined not to sacrifice his vision to become popular.

James Mercer Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri, on February 1, 1902, to James Nathaniel Hughes, a lawyer and businessman, and Carrie Mercer (Langston) Hughes, a teacher. The couple separated shortly thereafter. James Hughes was, by his son’s account, a cold man who hated blacks (and hated himself for being one), feeling that most of them deserved their ill fortune because of what he considered their ignorance and laziness. Langston’s youthful visits to him there, although sometimes for extended periods, were strained and painful. He attended Columbia University in 1921-22, and when he died he, left everything to three elderly women who had cared for him in his last illness,

Countee Cullen was a poet and editor who graduated from New York University in 1925. He published his first book of poetry “Colors” in this year and was greatly admired by many critics

Countee Cullen’s first journal of poetry, Color, was published the same year he graduated from New York University (1925). Color was written in a “careful, traditional style, the work celebrated black beauty and deplored the effects of racism.” The book featured some of his well known poems such as, ‘Heritage’ and ‘Incident’ along with his most famous poem, ‘Yet Do I Marvel.’ Following Cullen’s graduation from New York University Phi Beta Kappa he attended Harvard where he completed his master’s degree in 1926. He also worked as an assistant editor of the Opportunity Magazine where his column increased his reputation. While editing he also published his second journal of poetry, Copper Sun. Copper Sun was very controversial in the black community because they believed Cullen did not give the theme of racism the same attention that he did in Color. In 1928 Cullen won the Guggenheim Fellowship which allowed him to go abroad to study/write. This is where he met the love of his life, Nina Yolande Du Bois whom he married in 1928 but divorced in 1930. But in 1940 Countee Cullen found a true soul mate, Ida Mae Robertson whom he later married. In the late 1930’s Cullen taught English, French and creative writing at Frederick Douglass Junior High School in New York City. He taught at Frederick Douglass until he died in 1946. During this period he wrote two children’s books- The Lost Zoo, short stories and poems about animals who died in the flood and My Lives

The Harlem Renaissance was a time where creativity flourished throughout the African American community. At the time many African Americans were treated as second class citizens. The Harlem Renaissance acted as artistic and cultural outlet for the African-American community. The Harlem Renaissance, otherwise known as “The New Negro Movement” was an unexpected outburst of creative activity among African Americans In the poems Harlem by Langston Hughes, America by Claude McKay, and Incident by Countee Cullen all use frustration and hope as reoccurring themes to help empower the African-American population and realize the injustices they face day to day. The Harlem Renaissance was a period marked by great change and forever altered the

In the early twentieth century, many blacks who lived in the South moved to the North to find a better way of life. Many families landed in Harlem, New York and the neighborhood eventually became rich in Black culture and traditions. The mixture of cultures, heritage and traditions eventually lead to an explosion of Black creativity in music, literature and the arts which became known as the Harlem Renaissance. As with many transitional time periods in United states History, the Harlem Renaissance had its share of success stories. One of the well-known writers of the 1900’S is Langston Hughes. While many writers focused on one style or category of writing, Langston Hughes is the most versatile of all of the writers from the Harlem

Langston Hughes’s life contained key influences on his work. As a child, Hughes witnessed a divorce between his parents and the subsequent death of his grandmother, his primary caretaker at the time. Hughes’s childhood was also marked by the constant transition of moving from city to

First, in order to better understand Hughes and his works, it’s important to familiarize oneself with his childhood and early influences. Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri during the Jim Crow era. Hughes began writing poetry at just age thirteen thanks to racial stereotyping, however, it wouldn’t be until after dropping out of Columbia University and traveling the world working odd jobs would he have the time and incentive to write and