Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes was a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance, contributing to the flourishing of black intellectual and artistic life in the 1920s.
Poet
February 1, 1902
Aquarius
May 22, 1967
65
Joplin, Missouri
Langston Hughes, a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance, is best known for his poetry collections, such as “The Weary Blues,” “Montage of a Dream Deferred,” and “Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz.” He gained fame with his poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” written when he was just seventeen years old. As a leader in the African American literary community, Hughes was actively involved in civil rights movements. He also traveled extensively as a State Department lecturer, visiting Africa, Europe, and Asia, and documented his experiences in works like “A Negro Looks at Soviet Central Asia” and “I Wonder as I Wander: An Autobiographical Journey.” As a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes played a significant role in the flourishing of black intellectual, literary, and artistic life during the 1920s.