Langston Hughes
1902-1967
Biography







Born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri 1
Langston Hughes was born into a remarkable family that
believed in the value of education. His father, James
Hughes applied for law school, but was denied admission because
of his race. 1 His mother was a school teacher. 6
Hughes’ parents separated and thus began his rootless life of
poverty and insecurity. With his mother he moved often. He
remarked, “[we] always traveled about a great deal, looking for a
better job.” 1
Although Hughes’ mother successfully confronted those opposed to
his attending Harrison (an all white school), Hughes still had to face
the racial hatred of his young schoolmates.
Hughes lived most of his childhood with his grandmother, Mary
Langston. He forever carried with him her dream of racial equality.
Hughes died a bachelor. 1
Died on May 22, 1967. 5
Education



Graduated from High School in 1920
Attended Columbia University in 1921-22
Hughes graduated from
Lincoln University, PA in
1929 6
His Works/Career
His career took off after an encounter with the poet Vachel Lindsay.
Working as a busboy, Hughes laid a copy of his poems at Lindsay’s
plate. Impressed with his works, Lindsay publicized his discovery of
the new black poet. 6 “The Busboy Poet”











16 books of poetry
2 novels
7 collections of short stories
2 autobiographies
9 children books
2 picture books for juvenile readers
5 Non-fiction books
2 Pictorial Histories of African American Life
30 Plays
2 Opera Librettos
Numerous translations and Scripts for
radio, films, and television programs 7

Langston Hughes was one of many writers who emerged as a result
of the “Harlem Renaissance” in the 1920s.

Music was central to the culture of the Harlem Renaissance.
Hughes said, “I tried to write poems like the songs they sang on
Seventh Street...(these songs) had the pulse beat of the people who
keep on going.” 2

Hughes often recited his poetry with music accompaniment, shifting
his intonations or rhythm of the poem in response to the music.6
Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz
Worried Life Blues
The Weary Blues
Door to Door Blues
Hughes’ poetry is generally written in free verse and contains
informal diction or elements of “spoken” language.
"We younger Negro artists now intend to express our
individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If
white people are pleased we are glad. If they aren't, it
doesn't matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too...
If colored people are pleased we are glad. If they are
not, their displeasure doesn't matter either. We build our
temples for tomorrow, as strong as we know how and we
stand on the top of the mountain, free within ourselves." 3
“He wanted to tell the stories of his people in ways that
reflected their actual culture, including both their
suffering and their love of music, laughter, and language
itself.” 5
Explication

Means to interpret a poem intensely and persistently, examining
words carefully, explaining the patterns of imagery, the
meaningfulness of rhythms, the suggestiveness and power of the
sounds—trying to show how the text works.
Consider the following:
Theme/Plot
Mood/Tone
Form
Rhythm
Meter
Rhyme
Figures of speech (similes, metaphors..)
Hyperbole, understatement, ambiguity
Imagery and symbolism
Repetition
Patterns of Sound 4
Works Cited
1. Scott, Mark. “Langston Hughes of Kansas.” The Journal of NegroHistory 66.1(1981-04): 1-9.
2. “Langston Hughes: The Songs on Seventh Street.” The Academy of American Poets 2006. 28 Oct.
2006 <http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5804>.
3. Hughes, Langston. “Hughes’s ‘The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain’ (1926).” Modern
American Poetry 28 Oct. 2006
<http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/g_hughes/mountain>.
4. “Poetry Explication.” The Writing Center University of North Carolina 27 October 2006
<http://www.unc.edu/dept/wcweb/handouts/poetry-explication.html>.
5. “Langston Hughes.” The Academy of American Poets 2006. 28 October 2006
<http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83>.
6. “Langston Hughes.” Wikipedia 26 Oct. 2006. 28 Oct. 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes>.
7. “An African American Experience: Langston Hughes Understanding the Man, His Works, and His Legacy.”
B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library 30 Oct. 2006 <http://www.liu.edu/CWIS/CWP/LIBRARY/african/hughes/hughes.htm>.