Langston Hughes, or James Mercer Langston Hughes, was a renowned African-American writer and thinker who sparked a revolution. Born in Joplin, Missouri on February 1, 1902, James Mercer Langston Hughes didn't stay in Missouri for long. He is remembered for his many works that gave an insight into the life experiences of African Americans in the United States during the 1920s to the 1960s. His creative genius was influenced by his life in Harlem in New York City, a primarily African-American neighborhood. Langston Hughes is recognized as an innovator of jazz poetry, imitating the flow and rhythm of jazz music.
He is also known for his use of dialects that spoke powerfully to the common man, earning him the title of 'people's poet'. His collected poems, edited by Arnold Rampersad and David Roessel, were published in 1994. The Pittsburgh Courier even ran a headline at the top of the page that read 'LANGSTON HUGHES'S BOOK OF TRASH POEMS'.Langston Hughes was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance, a flourishing of black intellectual, literary and artistic life that took place in the 1920s in several American cities, particularly in Harlem. He broke boundaries with his poetry and left an enduring legacy on this artistic movement. While he could have attended engineering school to please his father, Langston decided that this was not his path in life and abandoned it after a year. In addition to his poetic contributions to the Harlem Renaissance movement, Langston Hughes was also an exceptional writer and traveler.
He was also a competent journalist and when asked about his family history, he clarified that it was brown rather than black. Today, Langston Hughes is remembered for his many works that gave an idea of the life experiences of African Americans in the United States during the 1920s to the 1960s. He is also known for his use of jazz rhythms and dialects that spoke powerfully to the common man. Langston Hughes has been called the people's poet for his portrayals of black culture and everyday life.
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