James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967 in Joplin, Missouri) was an American writer, poet, author and playwright. Hughes was known as one of the lead figures of the Harlem Renaissance
, a revival of African-American culture and arts that primarily took place in New York City in the The Roaring '20s.
Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri, his father would then leave him, divorce his mother and leave for Mexico. Hughes's mother traveled for work, leaving Hughes to be raised primarily by his grandmother, who raised him to be proud of his heritage and to help other members of his race. He would gain a love of reading and writing as a child, and wrote many poems and short stories. During the 1920s, and while attending university, working jobs and living abroad, Hughes became known for his published poetry, and it was the poem "The Weary Blues" that lead to further recognition. He would title his first book collection of poems after "The Weary Blues".
Hughes's poems would mostly be about working class black Americans, examining race and class. He was also one of the earliest recorded jazz poets, using the rhythms/improvisations of jazz music and blues music to recite. Hughes was also a novelist and playwright; Not Without Laughter being one of the most well known novels and Black Nativity being his most well known play.
His personal life was not well known by many, but despite having a romance with a woman in his early adulthood, it is generally accepted by scholars and biographers that Hughes was gay. Hughes's poetry was gay coded and he often wrote about the beauty of dark-skinned men and had several unpublished poems interpreted to be for several male lovers.
Hughes died of complications from prostate cancer on May 22, 1967. His former residence at 20 East 127th Street in Harlem, New York was given landmark status and his ashes are interred beneath a floor medallion in the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem.
Bibliography
Poem collections
- The Weary Blues, 1926
- Fine Clothes to the Jew, 1927
- The Negro Mother and Other Dramatic Recitations, 1931
- Dear Lovely Death, 1931
- The Dream Keeper and Other Poems, 1932
- Scottsboro Limited: Four Poems and a Play, 1932
- A New Song, 1938
- Note on Commercial Theatre, 1940
- Shakespeare in Harlem, 1942
- Freedom's Plow, 1943
- Jim Crow's Last Stand, 1943
- Fields of Wonder, 1947
- One-Way Ticket, 1949
- Montage of a Dream Deferred, 1951
- Selected Poems of Langston Hughes, 1958
- Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz, Hill & Wang, 1961
- The Panther and the Lash: Poems of Our Times, 1967
- The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes, 1994
Novels/Short Story Collections
- Not Without Laughter, 1930
- The Ways of White Folks, 1934
- Simple Speaks His Mind, 1950
- Laughing to Keep from Crying, 1952
- Simple Takes a Wife, 1953
- Sweet Flypaper of Life, photographs by Roy DeCarava, 1955
- Simple Stakes a Claim, 1957
- Tambourines to Glory, 1958
- The Best of Simple, 1961
- Simple's Uncle Sam, 1965
- Something in Common and Other Stories, 1963
- Short Stories of Langston Hughes, 1996
Non-fiction books
- The Big Sea, 1940
- Famous American Negroes, 1954
- Famous Negro Music Makers, 1955
- I Wonder as I Wander, 1956
- A Pictorial History of the Negro in America, 1956
- Famous Negro Heroes of America, 1958
- Fight for Freedom: The Story of the NAACP, 1962
- Black Magic: A Pictorial History of the Negro in American Entertainment, 1967
Plays
- Mule Bone, with Zora Neale Hurston, 1931
- Mulatto, 1935 (renamed The Barrier, an opera, in 1950)
- Troubled Island, with William Grant Still, 1936
- Little Ham, 1936
- Emperor of Haiti, 1936
- Don't You Want to be Free?, 1938
- Street Scene, contributed lyrics, 1947
- Tambourines to Glory, 1956
- Simply Heavenly, 1957
- Black Nativity, 1961
- Five Plays by Langston Hughes, 1963
- Jerico-Jim Crow, 1964
Books for children
- Popo and Fifina, with Arna Bontemps, 1932
- The First Book of the Negroes, 1952
- The First Book of Jazz, 1954
- Marian Anderson: Famous Concert Singer, with Steven C. Tracy, 1954
- The First Book of Rhythms, 1954
- The First Book of the West Indies, 1956
- First Book of Africa, 1964
- Black Misery, illustrated by Arouni, 1969; reprinted 1994
