Langston Hughes : African American Poetry

     Langston Hughes was one of the most important writers and thinkers of the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes creative intellect was influenced by his life in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood. Hughes had a very strong sense of racial pride. Through his works he promoted racial equality and celebrated the African American culture. It was in Lincoln, Illinois that Hughes started to write his poetry. In November 1924, he moved to Washington D.C. where he published his first book of poetry. Hughes is known for his insightful, colorful portrayals of black life in America. Langston is also known for his commitment to jazz. Hughes refused to distinguish between his personal and common understandings of black America. He

Langston Hughes was one of the great writers of his time. He was named the “most renowned African American poet of the 20th century” (McLaren). Through his writing he made many contributions to following generations by writing about African American issues in creative ways including the use of blues and jazz. Langston Hughes captured the scene of Harlem life in the early 20th century significantly influencing American Literature. He once explained that his writing was an attempt to “explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America” (Daniel 760). To fulfill this task, he wrote 15 volumes of poetry, six novels, three books, 11 plays, and a variety of non-fiction work (Daniel 760). He also edited over 50 books in his time (McKay).

Langston Hughes clearly connects with a wide range of audiences through the simplicity that surrounds his poetry. The beauty of this manner in which he wrote his poetry, is that it grasp people by illustrating his narratives of the common lifestyles experienced by the current American generation. His art form expresses certain questionable ideologies of life and exposes to the audience what it takes to fully comprehend what being an American truly means. Each individual poem describes and illustrates the strength and hardships the African American community was experiencing. Through his literature art form of poetry, Hughes was able to convey the common assertions of

Langston Hughes was someone who never gave up on his dream. He was an African-American born in Missouri in 1902. He received his education at Columbia University and later went on to go to Lincoln University. Although he is most well known for being a poet, he held a variety of other jobs ranging from a busboy to a columnist in his early years. In the 1920s America entered the Harlem Renaissance, a time of appreciation for black heritage. It was at this point in history that he became an important writer. The reason he was so important to this time in history is because his writing, “offers a transcription of urban life through a portrayals of the speech habits attitudes and feelings of an oppressed people. The poems do more, however, than

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.

This freedom of expression offered by poetry has changed literature as a whole and affected whole communities, such as that of Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance. Langston Hughes’s upbringing in a family that valued and preserved their black culture, influenced his poetry and the way he gave a voice to the struggles and racial oppression of the black people.

Langston Hughes is an extremely successful and well known black writer who emerged from the Harlem Renaissance (“Langston Hughes” 792). He is recognized for his poetry and like many other writers from the Harlem Renaissance, lived most of his life outside of Harlem (“Langston Hughes” 792). His personal experiences and opinions inspire his writing intricately. Unlike other writers of his time, Hughes expresses his discontent with black oppression and focuses on the hardships of his people. Hughes’ heartfelt concern for his people’s struggle evokes the reader’s emotion. His appreciation for black music and culture is evident in his work as well. Langston Hughes is a complex poet whose profound works provide insight into all aspects of black

Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. He was named after his father, James Hughes, but was known as Langston. He was the only child from his parents James and Carrie Hughes. His parents were not married for long because of an unhappy marriage. When they separated, Langston was left with his mother, who left him behind to move from city to city to find work. Langston ended up living with his 70 year-old grandmother in Lawrence, Kansas. He lived with her until he was 13, and then he moved back with his mother in Lincoln, Kansas after his grandmother died in 1915.

To begin, Langston Hughes had a lot of key contribution towards him becoming an innovative writer. For instance, Hughes’s Grandmother had a major influence on his love of literature as he described in his novel Hughes's grandmother was also a marvelous storyteller, narrating “long beautiful stories about people who wanted to make the Negroes free” (The Big Sea: An Autobiography, Langston Hughes, Page 17, 1940.) Langston Hughes is widely considered one of the best poets who ever walked the earth. Many of his themes focused on the issues that were confronting the nation: race, equality and suffrage. Hughes highlights some of his work that fell in line with this perspective.

James Mercer Langston Hughes, (February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967) was born in Joplin, Missouri, to James Nathaniel and Caroline Hughes in 1902. Hughes’ parents were of mixed-race, and Langston Hughes was of African American, European American and Native American descent. Hughes' father left his family and later divorced Carrie using it as a way to escape the unbearable racism in America. After his parents’ separation, his mother travelled in

Langston Hughes was a popular one of the most popular African American poets of the 20th Century. He was popular amongst the people as an artist and his work was very well known by many black people. A lot of black people regularly engaged in Langston Hughes’ work in “black” newspapers and they would be present in great numbers to hear him speak at other venues and black colleges and to say the least, purchase his books. One of the many reasons that Langston Hughes’ poetry gained popularity is due to the fact that without changing direction, his poetry addressed African American subjects in a way in which could be understood. Not only that, he engaged what was going on within their present, but also their collective memories of their past as

Langston Hughes’ life influenced many of his own works, such as The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Let America Be America Again, and that ultimately contributed to the presence of recognized black literature. As a child, he lived a neglected life with his grandmother, but soon after she passed away, his love for poetry grew. Publishing his first poem at age 18, he wanted to go to college and become a writer. He left university and the country for a while, but returned to America and met many significant authors, who gave him a gateway to get more of his works published. Most importantly, he helped shape a new era. As the end of his life dwindled down, his legacy doesn’t.

Langston hughes was an inspiring poet to the african americans and helped them get through the many hardships they had faced during 19th century. He communicated many hardships of being african american in many of his poems. Langston Hughes used a wide variety of stylistic techniques to communicate his thoughts on racism during the Harlem Renaissance era.

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 feels him a negro in vogue is big deal. He has the weight of blacks wanting him to say something and criticizing him if he does not seem as though he representing the black community correctly. Then, he has the bribery if whites who want him to spread their desires of standardization. Langston writes strictly about his life experiences in his poetry. While doing so he still tries to answer questions many of his fellow African Americans have. Maintaining his life experiences in his poetry is important to him because writing about things he has not gone through is conforming to the standards of the white man.