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Date of Birth
James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. He grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, mainly with his grandmother, Mary Langston. -
Influences
He lived with his grandmother for most of his life, but when she died he moved to live with his mother. They settled down in Cleveand, Ohio this is when he started to wrote poetry. One of his teachers introduced him to Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman. These 2 poets later became his primary influences. -
Highschool
Langston Hughes regularly contributed to his school's literary magazine, and often submitted to other poetry magazines, although they would ultimately reject him. This is imporant becuase even though his work wasn't published right away he didn't give up. -
Income
He was the first African-American to make as a writer. This is imporant becuase he showed others of his race that you shouldn't give up. He inspired others and gave a voice to unpraised men and women. -
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
The Nergo Speaks of Rivers is one of his most famous works. He wrote it while he was young, in his teens. It celebrated the voice and soul of the black community. The poem helped to inspire and unite them when they felt as if they weren seen or heard. -
Jesse B. Semple
Langston Huges ran into a man one night who was complaining about his job. He then created Jesse B. Sample the colunm wrote about issuses of race, politics, and relationships, They were first published February 13, 1943. This is imporant because it gave everyday people and people who didn't like their jobs a chance to write up tihngs they are about. -
When he died
On May 22, 1967, Langston Hughes died from complications of prostate cancer. -
Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance was the African American artistic movement in the 1920. Langston Huges played a huge part during this time period. He was known for his ¨pedestrian" style of writing. -
Imporantance today
Langston Hughes literary works helped shape American literature and politics. People still read and talk about his work becuase of how inspiring it was in the 1920s. He insipred the African Americans to do the impossible and to follow their dreams, he gave people a sense of hope and still does.
