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Birth
James Mercer Langston Hughes, was born on February 1st in 1901 in Joplin, Missouri. His parents were James Nathaniel Hughes and Caroline (Carrie) Hughes and was their only child. He was of African American, European, and Native American descent. -
Growing up
Langston grew up in many places around a series of Midwestern town, mainly raised in Lawrence, Kansas by his grandmother, Mary Patterson Langston. After he was born, his father had left the family and divorced Carrie. -
Adolescence
At age 13, he moved back with his mother and her husband in Lincoln, Illinois. During that time in Lincoln, it was when Langston began to write poetry. The family soon moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he experimented with his writing and -
His first major poem
After graduating high school, he went to visit his father in Mexico and during that time, he had composed his first major poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers". It was published in 1921 in the journal The Crisis. The poem presents the voice and memory of the Africans who were forced into slavery, including the time when Abraham Lincoln fought to abolish it. The speaker speaks from the depth of his heart and provides glimpses of his heritage, memories attached with ancient rivers in Africa. -
Early 20's
After he gained success with his first poem, he had also written a collection of short poems by the name of "The Weary Blues" and received praise for his work. During the time he had his busboy job, he met a poet named Vachel Lindsay and took advantage to show him his poetry, wanting to receive some recognition.
Hughes had also worked as a sailor/crewman on the S.S Malone where he was able to travel to different parts of the world such as France, West Africa, and Europe. -
Education
Around middle school, he was introduced to poetry and began to write poetry. He was also a regular contributor to his school's papers and magazines.
in 1920, he would graduate High school and a year later would enroll in Columbia University to study engineering. He managed to pass with an B+ average and dropped out to study and work on poetry.
In 1925, he receives a scholarship to Lincoln University and graduated after two years -
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual, social, and artistic explosion centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s. Langston Hughes was one of those black leaders who arose during the Harlem Renaissance. He gave his people a voice and encouraged pride and hope through his literary work, to overcome racial discrimination. Langston Hughes lived during the time of the Harlem Renaissance -
His first major novel
After his graduation from Lincoln in 1929, Hughes published his first novel, Not Without Laughter. The book was commercially successful enough to convince Hughes that he could make a living as a writer. -
Plays
-Mulatto: A Tragedy of the Deep South is about race issues/ anti-black racism in the South
-During the 1930's Langston worked on "Mule Bone" with Zora Neale Hurston. This novel's two authors set the story in Zora Hurston's hometown of Eatonville, Florida. One afternoon, Jim and Dave are fighting over a girl named Daisy. When trash talk turns to fist-fighting, Jim picks up a mule bone and uses it to render Dave unconscious. For this, he is arrested and detained in a barn until his trial -
His first collection of short stories
Hughes' first collection of short stories "The Ways of White Folks" was published in 1934. He finished the book at a Carmel, California cottage. These stories are a series of vignettes revealing the humorous and tragic interactions between whites and blacks. Overall, they are marked by a general pessimism about race relations, as well as a sardonic realism. -
Langston Hughes's Biography
The autobiography "The Big Sea" was written by Langston Hughes himself. It was the first of two Autobiographies and was published in 1940. It covers the poet's childhood and life through the decade of the 20's; Specifically during the year 1902- 1939. -
Broadway Musical
In the late 1940s, Hughes contributed the lyrics for a Broadway musical titled Street Scene, with music by Kurt Weill. The success of the musical would earn Hughes enough money that he was finally able to buy a house in Harlem. Around this time, he also taught creative writing at Atlanta University (today Clark Atlanta University) and was a guest lecturer at a university in Chicago for several months. -
Retirement
Hughes eventually settled in Harlem but continued to travel throughout his life. During his life, he had written sixteen books of poetry, two novels, seven collections of short stories, two autobiographies, four nonfiction works, ten books for children and more than twenty-five plays. -
His political views
Hughes was drawn to Communism as an alternative to a segregated America. Many of his lesser-known political writings have been collected in two volumes and reflect his attraction to Communism. A poem "A New Song" is an example. Hughes was accused of being a Communist by many on the political party, but he always denied it. When asked why he never joined the Communist Party, he wrote, "it was based on strict discipline and the acceptance of directives that I, as a writer, did not wish to accept." -
Relationships
-Family relationships:
James Nathaniel and Caroline Hughes (Mother and Father)
unspecified sibling
Mary Patterson Langston (Grandmother)
James and Auntie Mary Reed (Family friends)
Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman (Influencers in poetry)
Helen Maria Chesnutt (Teacher)
-Romantic relationships?:
Anne Marie Coussey (Supposed love interest)
-It states that he never gotten married or had children, his work hinting at signs of being either Asexual or Homosexual -
Places he has traveled to
Hughes has had the chance to visit certain parts of the world, places such as parts of Africa, states in the United States, Europe, Spain, New Mexico, France, Maybe even China and Japan -
Awards and Achievements
1926-1964
-Hughes won the Witter Bynner Undergraduate Poetry Prize.
-Was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
-Awarded a fellowship from the Rosenwald Fund.
-Lincoln University awarded honorary Litt.D.
-The Anisfield-Wolf Book Award.
- the Harmon Gold Medal for literature
-The NAACP awarded him Spingarn Medal for distinguished achievements by an African American.
-National Institute of Arts and Letters
-Western Reserve University awarded Hughes an honorary Litt.D. -
Death
Hughes died on the twenty second of May, in 1967 from complications after abdominal surgery related to prostate cancer. He was cremated and his ashes are buried beneath a floor medallion in the middle of the entrance to the "Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture" in Harlem -
Langston Hughes' Legacy
- Hughes' Harlem home, on East 127th Street, received New York City Landmark status in 1981 and was added to the National Register of Places in 1982. His block of East 127th Street was renamed "Langston Hughes Place."
- Volumes of his work continue to be published and translated throughout the world.
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Fun Facts
-Senator Joseph McCarthy accused Langston Hughes of being a Communist and forced him to testify in Washington, D.C.
-At Columbia, Hughes studied Engineering and Chemistry because his father wanted him to study a subject more lucrative than writing.
-Langston Hughes temporarily worked as a cook in Paris.
-Some academics and biographers believe that Hughes was homosexual while others conclude that Hughes was probably asexual and passive in his sexual relationships -
