Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes, American writer who was an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance and who vividly depicted the African American experience through his writings, which ranged from poetry and plays to novels and newspaper columns. Learn more about Hughes’s life and work.

Hilton Als writes on Langston Hughes and the poet’s reluctance to reveal himself.

Langston Hughes (1902–1967) ? By Winold Reiss (1886–1953) / Pastel on illustration board, ca. 1925 / 30 1/16 x 21 5/8 in. (76.3 x 54.9 cm) / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of W. Tjark Reiss, in memory of his father, Winold Reiss About the Sitter Born in Joplin, Missouri, in 1902, Langston Hughes said, “My earliest memories of written words were those

a Langston Hughes poem about a woman having great strength, light, loveliness, and power.

“I loved my friend” by Langston Hughes is one of my all time favorite poems.

After spending a year in Mexico with his father, Hughes wrote the poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” which ended up being published in a well known magazine. He went to Columbia University, but ended up dropping out after a year and started working jobs around New York. In 1924 Hughes travelled to Paris and lived there while he worked on his poetry.