Langston Hughes Biography

James Mercer Langston Hughes

Born: February 1, 1902
Died: May 22, 1967
Place of Birth: Joplin, Missouri

Major Notes:

Langston Hughes was considered by many as the "Poet Laureate of the Negro Race."
Because his parents separated, Hughes was brought up mainly by his grandmother.
He felt some sense of rejection because he was not living with either of his parents.
His grandmother was a story teller and she instilled a sense of racial pride in young Langston.
In school, Hughes was selected at one point to be the class poet because his teacher felt that blacks had a "natural rhythm."
Hughes's grandmother died when he was thirteen and he moved to Illinois and then Ohio to live with his mother.
He attended high school in Cleveland where he started to hone his skills as a writer.
In high school, he wrote poetry, stories, and plays and was editor of the year book.
Langston Hughes also developed a love for reading and appreciating books.
In 1919, he spent his summer living with his father in Mexico and, following high school graduation in 1920, Hughes moved back to live with his father.
His father discouraged him in following a writing career but did help pay his tuition at Columbia University where Hughes enrolled in Engineering.
He dropped out after only one year because of racial tensions at Columbia but continued writing poetry.
Hughes worked at various jobs in the 1920's and spent some time with world travel including living in Paris for a few months.
After returning to the US to live in New York's Harlem, Langston Hughes found various jobs which included working as a busboy.
He continued writing and was gaining a reputation amongst African Americans as a talented poet.
By the late 1920's, Hughes had been "discovered" by the poet Vachel Lindsay and had obtained a university degree.
Over the next three decades, Hughes would continue writing poetry, novels, and plays.
In 1942, he created a famous character called Simple whom he used in writing a weekly column in the Chicago Defender.
Hughes wrote at a prolific pace including twenty plays, three autobiographies, numerous children books, and sixteen books of poetry.
Langston Hughes was honored by New York City in having the area where his Harlem residence was located declared Langston Hughes Place.

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Major Notes:

Langston Hughes was considered by many as the "Poet Laureate of the Negro Race."

Because his parents separated, Hughes was brought up mainly by his grandmother.

He felt some sense of rejection because he was not living with either of his parents.

His grandmother was a story teller and she instilled a sense of racial pride in young Langston.

In school, Hughes was selected at one point to be the class poet because his teacher felt that blacks had a "natural rhythm."

Hughes's grandmother died when he was thirteen and he moved to Illinois and then Ohio to live with his mother.

He attended high school in Cleveland where he started to hone his skills as a writer.

In high school, he wrote poetry, stories, and plays and was editor of the year book.

Langston Hughes also developed a love for reading and appreciating books.

In 1919, he spent his summer living with his father in Mexico and, following high school graduation in 1920, Hughes moved back to live with his father.

His father discouraged him in following a writing career but did help pay his tuition at Columbia University where Hughes enrolled in Engineering.

He dropped out after only one year because of racial tensions at Columbia but continued writing poetry.

Hughes worked at various jobs in the 1920's and spent some time with world travel including living in Paris for a few months.

After returning to the US to live in New York's Harlem, Langston Hughes found various jobs which included working as a busboy.

He continued writing and was gaining a reputation amongst African Americans as a talented poet.

By the late 1920's, Hughes had been "discovered" by the poet Vachel Lindsay and had obtained a university degree.

Over the next three decades, Hughes would continue writing poetry, novels, and plays.

In 1942, he created a famous character called Simple whom he used in writing a weekly column in the Chicago Defender.

Hughes wrote at a prolific pace including twenty plays, three autobiographies, numerous children books, and sixteen books of poetry.

Langston Hughes was honored by New York City in having the area where his Harlem residence was located declared Langston Hughes Place.