Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was a famous poet and writer in the early 1930s. He became famous and was known as the voice of black people. The subject of all of his writing was about the lives of African Americans. Born in Joplin, Missouri, his family eventually moved to Ohio. He began writing poetry in eighth grade. Upon graduation from high school, he was voted the class poet.

By the age of 18, Langston saw his first poem published. The title of the poem was “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” For a short while, he attended Columbia University. He decided to make a trip to Africa. He boarded a ship and traveled to many countries in Africa and Europe. He would later go on to get a college degree.

One of his favorite things to do was to listen to jazz and blues music. This influence of music began to appear in his writing. He moved to Harlem, where he was editor. He devoted a great portion of his life to writing and speaking.

He wrote over 16 poetry books, two novels, and 20 plays, as well as children’s poetry, musicals, operas, biographies, radio and television scripts, and dozens of magazine articles. He was able to influence many people with his writing.