Langston Hughes was an American poet, novelist, playwright, short story writer, and a columnist.  Langston Hughes was born in February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri.  He was the son of Carrie M. Langston and James N. Hughes.  He was of African American, European, and Native American descent.  He was raised mainly by his mother and his grandmother. Langston went to elementary school in Kansas and Illinois.  It was there where he was named class poet, which sparked his interest in writing poetry even though he had never written a poem.

             Langston graduated high school in Cleveland, Ohio in 1920.  In high school he won athletic letter in track, held office in student council, and the American Civic Association.  He was later introduced to the works of poet Carl Sandburg.  That’s when he began writing poetry and developed his unique style.  He had submitted work to magazines but they were rejected.

             After high school he spent a year in Mexico with his father who tried to discourage him from writing.  Hughes writings were beginning to appear in Brownies Book, a publication for children.  He started working on more ambitious material for adult readers.  A poem he wrote called “A Negro Speaks of River” marked this development, it appeared in Crisis Magazine in 1921.

             He returned to America and enrolled at Columbia University in New York City but left after a year.  In 1923 he took a job as a freighter and in 1924 he spent six months in Paris, France.  He went back to America to live with his mom in Washington, D.C. and worked as a busboy.  In 1925 he won 1st prize in a literary competition for “The Weary Blues.”

In 1925 he resumed his education and in 1929 he graduated from Lincoln University.  In 1930 he write his 1st novel “Not Without Laughter” and his success inspired him to be an author.  Over the years Langston received numerous awards, scholarships, honorary degrees including the Anisfield-Wolf Award in 1953.  He taught creative writing at two universities.  His plays were produced on four continents.  He was elected to the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences and the National Institute of Arts and Letters.

             Langston Hughes died on May 22, 1967 at the age of 65 in New York City.  He died from complications after abdominal surgery related to prostate cancer.  Today many people believe he was a homosexual because he included homosexual codes in many of his poems.

Langston Hughes

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Langston Poems

 

James Langston Hughes

 

Langston Hughes Biography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our reflection on Langston Hughes poem “As I Grew Older”

 

It talks about as you grow older, your realize more about your dream. It says that you have to work your way through hardships to get to your dream and at the end it will payoff.

Born: February 1,1902 in Joplin, Missouri, United States

 

Died: May 22, 1967 (aged 65) in New York, New York, United States

 

Occupation: Poet, Columnist,  Dramatist, Essayist, Lyricist, Novelist, Social Activist, and Writer

Ethnicity: African American and Native American

Love Song for Lucinda

Love
Is a ripe plum
Growing on a purple tree.
Taste it once
And the spell of its enchantment
Will never let you be.

Love
Is a bright star
Glowing in far Southern skies.
Look too hard
And its burning flame
Will always hurt your eyes.

Love
Is a high mountain
Stark in a windy sky.
If you
Would never lose your breath
Do not climb too high.

Suggest Reading These Book From Langston Hughes 

 

Langston Hughes a biography by Milton Meltzer 1968

Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks: A Reference Guide by R. Baxter Miller 1979

Langston Hughes, American Poet by Alice Walker 1974

Langston Hughes in the Hispanic World and Haiti by Edward J. Mullen 1977

The World of Langston Hughes Music: A Bibliography of Musical Settings of Langston Hughes' Works with Recordings and Other Listings by Kenneth Neilson 1982

Langston Hughes: Before and Beyond Harlem by Faith Berry 1983

Langston Hughes and the Blues by Steven C. Tracy 1988

Langston Hughes: Black Genius, A Critical Evaluation edited by Therman B. O'Daniel 1977

The Life of Langston Hughes: Vol. I 1902-194, Too, Sing America and Vol. II 1941-1967 Dream A World by Arnold Rampersad 1986

Langston Hughes's Awards/Achievements

 

· In 1925, Langston Hughes entered Opportunity magazine's literary contest; he won first prize in poetry. In the same year, he entered the Amy Spingarn Contest in Crisis magazine and won poetry and essay prizes.

 

· In 1926, he won first prize in the Witter Bynner Undergraduate Poetry Prize Contests.

 

· In 1927, Hughes received the Palms magazine Intercollegiate Poetry Award.

 

· Langston Hughes received a scholarship to Lincoln University in Oxford, Pennsylvania, where he received his Bachelor of Arts(B.A.) degree in 1929. One year later, his first published novel, called Not Without Laughter, won the Golden Harmon Award for best novel.

 

· He won a Guggenheim Fellowship for creative work in 1935, and a Rosenwald Fellowship later in 1941.

 

· He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Literature(Lit.D) in 1943 by Lincoln University, again later in 1960 by Howard University, and yet again later in 1964 by Western Reserve University.

 

· In 1947, he was awarded a grant by the National Institute and American Academy of Arts and Letters.

 

· In 1954, Hughes won the Anisfeld-Wolfe Award for best book on racial relations.

 

· In 1960, he received the Spingarn Medal from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP).

 

After he died on May 22, 1967 in New York, his residence at 20 East 127th Street in Harlem, New York was given landmark status by the New York City Preservation Commission. His block of East 127th Street was renamed "Langston Hughes Place."