Langston Hughes: The Life Of A Great Poet

Langston Hughes was an African American poet who was born on Feb 1, 1902 through May,1967 in Joplin Missouri. He was a very famous poet, socialist, playwriter, communist, and he was best known for being involved in the Harlem Renaissance. His mom was a teacher and he was a child of divorced parents. His dad moved to mexico to escape the racism that was going on in the U.S.  During that time Hughes, was raised by his grandmother until he was thirteen, when he moved to Lincoln, Illinois, to live with his mother and her husband, before the family eventually settled in Cleveland, Ohio.It was in Lincoln, Illinois, that Hughes begins writing poetry. When Langston got older he went on to move to mexico and various parts of the world. Langston Hughes was a poet and a writer living in the 1920s during the Harlem Renaissance. His work is what helped shaped the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Some good character traits that Langston Hughes possessed was that he was very hardworking, caring, creative, adventerous, and thoughtful.

I picked Langston Hughes because unlike most other black poets, Hughes centered his poetry around all aspects of his people. From the suffering of racism, to the love of music. He based his work upon their actual lives and culture of his people .Langston, in his later years, was called " Poet Laureate of the Negro Race " a title he highly encouraged. He meant to represent his race with 100% , he was one of the most original African American poets and writers. Langston Hughes helped in many ways to the society. He was the 1st person known that could translate music especially jazz into poems. He also inspired many people to things they never did, or never really had the bravery to do. He put how he felt about what was going on at the time & also in his life into his poetry, plays, films etc.