Langston Hughes A Jazz Poet - 1045 Words

Langston Hughes (James Mercer Langston Hughes) was a poet, columnist, dramatist, essayist, lyricist, and novelist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry. Hughes, like others, was active in the Harlem Renaissance, and he had a strong sense of racial pride. Through his poem, novels, short stories, plays, and kids books, he promoted equality, condemned racism, and injustice, and celebrated African American culture, and humor. (Illinois). Langston Hughes was the son of Carrie Mercer Langston and James Nathaniel Hughes. He was born February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. Langston Hughes grew up in a series of small Midwestern towns. Hughes’ father divorced Langston’s mother, Carrie. Then his†¦show more content†¦In the same year, he entered the Amy Spingarn Contest in Crisis magazine and won poetry and essay prizes. In 1926, he won first prize in the Witter Bynner Undergraduate Poetry Prize contest. His first piece of jazz poetry, â€Å"When She Wears Red†, was written in high school. (Poetry Volume 13). Langston Hughes was one of the most inspirational people of his time. He wrote stories for all the African Americans that were living through the struggle of racial discrimination. In the 1960’s Langston was known as the â€Å"dean of the Negro writers†. He wrote short stories and children’s books to give these people a sense of hope. Langston Hughes has as much impact on todays society as he did during the 1920’s. He continues to serve as a voice for the African Americans. Hughes was also a communist. Many Blacks in this time period were for communism. They looked at it as an alternative to slavery and racism. (Poetry Vol. 13). Some of Hughes’s major works were: â€Å"Mother to Son,† â€Å"The Ballad of the Landlord,† â€Å"I, Too,† â€Å"As I Grew Older,† â€Å"The Negro Mother,† and â€Å" The Negro speaks of riversâ₠¬ . His first published poem, â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers†, was also one of his most famous, appearing in Brownies Book. Later, his poems, short plays, essays and short stories would appear in the NAACP publication, â€Å"Crisis Magazine†, in â€Å"Opportunity Magazine†, and others. Langston is not very welcomed among his people. He has received different reactions fromShow MoreRelatedEssay on Langston Hughes: Jazz Poet922 Words   |  4 PagesLangston Hughes Many poets are well recognized for their poems and live that they lived but, one poet is not all that well known. This poet had a rough live living in persecution just because of his skin color. The famous but forgotten Langston Hughes had an exciting career and very intense writings during the severe segregation era which he had lived in Langston Hughes traveled around the world, which made his very exciting career although, it started out slow, and once it got going it took offRead MoreThe Influences for Langston Hughes Successful Writing Career979 Words   |  4 Pagesthroughout our history. Langston Hughes was able to recognize that, â€Å"Man had the inability to bridge cultures† (Bloom 16). In one of his writings, Luani of the Jungles, Langston writes about the interactions in a relationship between a white man and a black woman, â€Å"that is not ruined by outside disapproval, but the man’s own obsession and oversimplification of their racial differences† (16). Hughes’s ability to speak openly about his ideas earned him the title of â€Å"the Poet of Laureate of Harlem† (BaileyRead MoreThe Harlem Renaissance By Langston Hughes1033 Words   |  5 Pagesto around 1935. Even though this period was short, it still lives on though all African American artists today. According to Biography.com in the article about Langston Hughes, there were many artist, musicians, and writers such as Langston Hughes, who was a huge part of the Harlem Renaissance period. Langston Hughes was a well-known poet and play writer. In the magazine called â€Å"The Crisis† his poem â€Å"Negros Speak of River† was published in 1921 and brought him attention in all the black communitiesRead MoreEssay on James Langston Hughes891 Words   |  4 Pages (February 1, 1902 - May 22, 1967) Born in Joplin, Missouri, James Langston Hughes was born into an abolitionist family. He was the grandson of grandson of Charles Henry Langston, the brother of John Mercer Langston, who was the the first Black American to be elected to public office in 1855. Hughes attended Central High School in Cleveland, Ohio, but began writing poetry in the eighth grade, and was selected as Class Poet. His father didnt think he would be able to make a living as at writingRead MoreLangston Hughes The Weary Blues Analysis1256 Words   |  6 PagesOn Langston Hughes’s The Weary Blues Kevin Young, a graduate of Harvard University and one of the winners of the Guggenheim Fellowship, writes the historical perspective of Langston Hughes. He discusses the flowering of the African American literature and culture and how it is actually just the extension of the New Negro movement. From the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes is able to represent â€Å"different things† for â€Å"different men.† The uprising of Hughes’s poems are the result of their hardshipsRead MoreLangston Hughes : Jazz Poetry And Harlem Renaissance1212 Words   |  5 PagesLangston Hughes Jazz Poetry and Harlem Renaissance Langston Hughes was an African American poet who was born on 01 February 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. His parents separated and later divorced during his childhood. Subsequently he was raised predominantly by his maternal grandmother. His grandparents were politically active and supporters of the abolition of slavery. They were activists in the movement for voting rights for African Americans. Through their active involvement in his upbringingRead MoreReoccurring Themes in the Work of Langston Hughes Essay1649 Words   |  7 PagesLangston Hughes is an extremely successful and well known black writer who emerged from the Harlem Renaissance (â€Å"Langston Hughes† 792). He is recognized for his poetry and like many other writers from the Harlem Renaissance, lived most of his life outside of Harlem (â€Å"Langston Hughes† 792). His personal experiences and opinions inspire his writing intricately. Unlike other writers of his time, Hughes expresses his discontent with bl ack oppression and focuses on the hardships of his people. Hughes’Read MoreEssay on Langston Hughes? Influence on American Literature1422 Words   |  6 Pages Langston Hughes was one of the great writers of his time. He was named the â€Å"most renowned African American poet of the 20th century† (McLaren). Through his writing he made many contributions to following generations by writing about African American issues in creative ways including the use of blues and jazz. Langston Hughes captured the scene of Harlem life in the early 20th century significantly influencing American Literature. He once explained that his writing was an attempt to â€Å"explain andRead More Langston Hughes Essay670 Words   |  3 Pages James Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. His parents divorced when he was very small, and his father (who found American racism made his desires to be a lawyer impossible) left the family and emigrated to Mexico. Hughes moth er moved with her child to Lawrence, Kansas, so she and he could live with his grandmother, Mary Langston. Langston Hughes mother moved to Topeka in 1907, leaving the five-year-old with his grandmother. Langston came from a family of African-AmericanRead MoreEssay on Langston Hughes a Harlem Renaissance Man1463 Words   |  6 Pagesknown as Harlem matured into the hideaway of jazz and the blues where the African American artist emerged calling themselves the â€Å"New Negro.† The New Negro was the cornerstone for an era known today as the Harlem Renaissance (Barksdale 23). The Harlem Renaissance warranted the expression of the double consciousness of the African Americans, which was exposed by artists such as Langston Hughes. James Mercer Langston Hughes was an African American poet, journalist, playwright, and novelist whose works