Langston Hughes: A Black Poet In The Harlem Renaissance

Langston Hughes Langston Hughes was a black poet in the Harlem Renaissance (Hughes, Langston). Most of Hughes’ writings were about segregation and racism during his time (Hughes, Langston). He wrote plays, books, and stories, but Hughes is most famous for his poems. Langston Hughes was a very inspiring poet, and was a civil rights activist and he spoke his thoughts through his works. James Mercer Langston Hughes was born February 1st, 1902, in Joplin Missouri (Poets.org). Hughes enrolled in Columbia University in 1921, his favorite class was English Literature. (Hughes, Langston). He was assigned the worst dormitory because of his color, but he dropped out of college after his freshman year, to financially support his mother who had recently moved to Harlem (Hughes, Langston).His career started to take off in 1923, he was living, working, and writing in Harlem at the time (Hughes, Langston). He was starting to gain a reputation as being a great writer, and even being contacted by other significant writers in his time (Hughes, Langston). And in 1925 Hughes won a literary prize given to him by the magazine Opportunity, and his works were also published in some significant venues (Hughes, Langston).

But he did not have the best family life, his parents both separated shortly after his birth (Hughes, Langston). His dad left for Cuba but ended up settling down in Mexico, he lived his life as a prosperous lawyer and landowner (Hughes, Langston). Hughes and his mother’s relationship were often strained when he was young (Hughes, Langston). For most of his childhood he lived with his grandmother, while his mother was looking for jobs in various locations (Hughes, Langston). But in 1915, Hughes’ grandmother died, so he moved to Lincoln, Illinois with his mother and her new Husband (Hughes,