Langston Hughes

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A black-and-white portrait of Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes (1901-1967) was a poet, author, and activist who was prominent during the Harlem Renaissance. Much of his work portrayed Black life in America, and was heavily influenced by jazz. Hughes aimed to capture the joys and suffering in Black culture, and often wrote his poems from the perspective of the common Black experience.^[1]

Hughes was born in Kentucky in 1901, and lived there with his grandmother until he was 13, when he moved to Lincoln, Illinois to live with his mother.^[1] He lived in Cleveland, Ohio during his high school years, then traveled to Africa and Europe in the early 1920s. He got his degree from Lincoln University in 1929, then moved to Harlem where he became a central part of the Harlem Renaissance. ^[2]

His poetry received poor reviews from critics at first, but he was beloved by the general public. Hughes was the first Black American to be able to make a living off of only his writing and lectures.^[3]

Hughes died in 1967 due to complications from prostate cancer.

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