Langston Hughes (1901-1967) was one of the most influential African American poets of the twentieth century. He is best known for his poetry, short stories, novels, contributions to the Harlem Renaissance, and engagement with the African Diaspora. Born in Joplin, Missouri, Hughes eventually moved to New York City. He obtained a B.A. from Lincoln Univesity in Pennsylvania in 1929, Hughes gained attention with the publication of 'The Negro Speaks of Rivers,' which he published in his first book of poetry, The Weary Blues in 1926. He later published poems in Crisis Magazine, the official organ of the NAACP. Hughes also contributed to one of the most important magazines of the Harlem Renaissance era, Fire!! Devoted to Younger Negro Artists.
Much of his work focused on the lives of ordinary working-class African Americans. One of the best examples of this interest was The Life of Jesse B. Semple, a series of stories published in the 1940s, about the trials and tribulations of an ordinary African American. These
In addition to depicting the lived experiences of workling class African Americans, Hughes also believed the the Black experience was informed by larger diasporic connections. He lived abroad in Paris and was deeply interested in black cultural and aesthetic practices throughout the Africa Diaspora. His thinking was very influential in the works of Leopold Senghor, Aime Cesaire, Jacques Romain and many others.
Hughes' work utilized various forms. He wrote a novel, Not Without Laughter in 1930 and short stories, The Ways of White Folks in 1934. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), Hughes wrote a long poem Madrid, as part of an assignment reporting on Black soldiers who volunteered in the conflict. It was eventualy published as a novel in 1939. He also wrote novels, short stories, plays, poetry, operas, essays, and works for children. His two volumes of autobiography, The Big Sea and I Wonder as I Wander are still widely read today.
Hughes with Arna Bontemps co-edited the 1949 anthology The Poetry of the Negro. In the 1950s and 1960s, Hughes served as a mentor to younger writers, He often introduced them to other writers and publishers in the industry. His career spanned some of the most turbulent decades of African American history. His work to left an indelible stamp on the period. Hughes died in New York City in 1967.
Below find an informational blog about the life and times of Langston Hughes.
NOTE--This informational blog is compiled by (with the exception of the introduction and photograph) and reprinted with permission from Abdul Akalimat, PhD
Bio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes https://illinois.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/langston-hughes-video/wviz-know-ohio/
Documentary film narrated by Ossie Davis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxMr46IUlDk
UCLA Lecture 1967 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px5hwNCs9ss
His poems https://poets.org/poet/langston-hughes
Discusses and reads his poems https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxt-xxblHmg
Reading his poetry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cKDOGhghMU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwRF7mU4zrg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL8InGxdgVU
Jazz poet https://www.arts.gov/stories/blog/2014/jazz-poetry-langston-hughes
Langston Hughes and Margaret Danner https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-e&q=langston+hughes+revolution&tbm=vid&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiHg_u_lpaAAxVHBzQIHRx8B1AQ0pQJegQIDBAB&biw=1024&bih=475&dpr=1.88#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:624b592a,vid:FGSAxnO_RVc
Black Nativity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9JrVlFi7u8
Salvation (film adaptation of an book chapter) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuNCsMCl8Ug
Way Down South (film) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhvQaLEhvl8
Looking for Langston https://vimeo.com/467029335
I Dream A World: The Life and Work of Langston Hughes (Play at Emory University) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw3OBDSeMo0
Quoted by Martin Luther King https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko7w_cFvbO0
Commentary on his work - Alice Walker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4xsuHfkfs8
Commentary by Amiri Baraka https://blackleadership.virginia.edu/videos/baraka-amiri/ab15
Commentary by friends: Marylouise Patterson and Evelyn Louise Crawford https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBbKV_HDJSM
Commentary by Danny Glover https://www.c-span.org/video/?169018-1/evening-langston-hughes
Left perspectives https://www.cpusa.org/article/langston-hughes-progressive-poet-and-wanderer/ https://jacobin.com/2021/11/langston-hughes-black-socialism-communist-party-harlem-renaissance-poetry
McCarthy’s Subcommittee on Investigations to answer questions about Communist influences in his writing https://www.pbs.org/video/mccarthy-langston-hughes-trial-zxtbzl/
FBI https://vault.fbi.gov/langston-hughes
Internet Archive https://tinyurl.com/mrx877ww
Yale University - Langston Hughes Papers https://beinecke.library.yale.edu/collections/highlights/langston-hughes-papers