Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes (James Langston Hughes), 1902-67, American poet and central figure of the Harlem Renaissance, b. Joplin, Mo., grad. Lincoln Univ., 1929. He worked at a variety of jobs and lived in several countries, including Mexico and France, before Vachel Lindsay discovered his poetry in 1925. The publication of The Weary Blues (1926), his first volume of poetry, enabled Hughes to attend Lincoln Univ. in Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1929. His writing, which often uses dialect and jazz rhythms, is largely concerned with depicting African American life, particularly the experience of the urban African American. Among his later collections of poetry are Shakespeare in Harlem (1942), One-Way Ticket (1949), and Selected Poems (1959). Hughes's numerous other works include several plays, notably Mulatto (1935); books for children, such as The First Book of Negroes (1952); and novels, including Not Without Laughter (1930). His newspaper sketches about Jesse B. Simple were collected in The Best of Simple (1961).

Bibliography: See his autobiographies, The Big Sea (1940) and I Wonder as I Wander (1956); The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes (1995), ed. by A. Rampersad and D. Roessel; Remember Me to Harlem: The Letters of Langston Hughes and Carl Van Vechten (2001), ed. by E. Bernard; biography by A. Rampersad (2 vol., 1986-88); studies by O. Jemie (1985) and S. C. Tracy (1988).

Hughes, Langston (1902–1967), African American writer.Born in Joplin, Missouri, and educated at Columbia and Lincoln universities, Langston Hughes established himself as a writer with The Weary Blues (1926), a collection of poems influenced by jazz rhythms. Subsequent poetry collections, notably Shakespeare in Harlem (1942), Montage of a Dream Deferred (1951), and The Panther and the Lash (1967), solidified his reputation as the “Negro Poet Laureate.” A central figure in the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes wrote prolifically, producing a novel, Not without Laughter (1930), as well as children's books, plays, musicals, radio scripts, and two autobiographies, The Big Sea (1940) and I Wonder as I Wander (1956). His humorous columns in The Chicago Defender newspaper, featuring Jess B. Semple, a fictional character who offered commonsense but cutting critiques of American culture, enjoyed a large following. In the 1930s and after, Hughes's writing increasingly reflected his social activism. He founded black theaters in Chicago, Harlem, and Los Angeles, and traveled extensively in the United States and abroad investigating race relations. In 1960, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People awarded him its Spingarn Medal.

A voice of social protest, Hughes blurred the line between high and low culture, addressing black audiences through the use of oral tradition, improvisation, and mass cultural forms, including the gospel musical play. His writing for children, in particular, reflected his belief that race consciousness and pride could be transmitted through literature and art. Renowned for the humor and compassion that suffused his vision of social renewal, Hughes ranks among the most influential American writers of the twentieth century.
See also African Americans; Literature: Since World War I.

Bibliography

Arnold Rampersad , The Life of Langston Hughes, 2 vols., 1988, 1989.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. and K.A. Appiah, eds., Langston Hughes: Critical Perspectives Past and Present, 1993.

Tanya Agathocleous

Hughes, Langston (1902–67) US poet and leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance. His debut volume was The Weary Blues (1926). Hughes' distinctive musical style combined African-American dialect with the rhythms of jazz and blues. Ohter works include Shakespeare in Harlem (1942) and One-Way Ticket (1949).