Langston Hughes

Who Was Langston Hughes?

Langston Hughes, a prominent poet and writer, emerged as a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance after the publication of his first poem in 1921. His debut poetry collection followed five years later in 1926. As one of the first Black Americans to earn a living through writing, Hughes created a vast body of work that encompasses poetry, prose, and plays, all reflecting the African American experience of the 20th century and leaving a lasting impact on literature. His most celebrated poems include “Dreams,” “I, Too,” and “Harlem.” In addition, Hughes contributed a popular column to the Chicago Defender. He passed away from prostate cancer in May 1967 at the age of 65.

Early Life

James Mercer Langston Hughes, better known as Langston Hughes, was born in Joplin, Missouri. The exact date of his birth—likely February 1, 1901—has been the subject of scholarly debate; for many years, it was believed to be February 1, 1902, until archived newspaper evidence emerged in 2018 suggesting the earlier date. Following his birth, his parents, James Hughes and Carrie Langston, separated, and his father relocated to Mexico.

Hughes’s early years were marked by frequent relocations, primarily raised by his maternal grandmother, Mary, until her death when he was in his early teens. Subsequently, he lived with his mother, and they moved through several cities before settling in Cleveland. It was during this period that Hughes began writing poetry, inspired by a teacher who introduced him to the works of Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman, both of whom he later cited as significant influences. Although he submitted poems to various literary magazines, most were rejected.

Harlem Renaissance

After graduating from high school in 1920, Hughes spent a year in Mexico with his father. In 1921, he published his first poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” in The Crisis, which garnered widespread acclaim. He returned to the United States that same year and briefly attended Columbia University. In New York City, Hughes quickly became immersed in Harlem’s vibrant cultural movement, known as the Harlem Renaissance. He left Columbia in 1922, taking on various jobs in New York before serving as a steward on a freighter that took him to Africa and Spain. He disembarked in 1924 and spent some time in Paris, where he further honed his poetic craft.

Poems, Books, and Other Works

Hughes was one of the first Black Americans to support himself through writing. Following the success of “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” he composed hundreds of poems and published 16 volumes during his lifetime, beginning with The Weary Blues in 1926. His oeuvre includes short story collections, novels, plays, two autobiographies, and children’s books, all centering on the everyday experiences of African Americans in the 20th century.

“Dreams”

Hughes’s poem “Dreams” was published in 1923 by The World Tomorrow, a New York City magazine.

“The Weary Blues”

By November 1924, Hughes had returned to the United States and taken on various jobs. While working as a busboy in a Washington, D.C., hotel restaurant in 1925, he met the American poet Vachel Lindsay, who encouraged Hughes by promoting his poetry to a wider audience. That same year, Hughes’s poem “The Weary Blues” won first prize in the Opportunity magazine literary competition and earned him a scholarship to attend Lincoln University, a historically Black institution in Pennsylvania.

At Lincoln, Hughes’s work captured the attention of novelist and critic Carl Van Vechten, who helped him publish his first poetry collection, The Weary Blues, through Knopf in 1926. This collection established his poetic style and commitment to Black themes and heritage.

“I, Too”

Included in The Weary Blues, the poem “I, Too” examines the relationship of African Americans to the broader society in the early 20th century. Selected parts of the poem are now engraved on a wall at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Hughes was also among the first poets to incorporate jazz rhythms and dialect into his work. In 1927, he published a second volume of poetry, Fine Clothes to the Jew.

Not Without Laughter

After graduating from Lincoln in 1929, Hughes published his first novel, Not Without Laughter, the following year. The book’s commercial success bolstered Hughes’s belief in his ability to make a living as a writer. Throughout the 1930s, he traveled extensively across the United States on lecture tours, as well as abroad to the Soviet Union, Japan, and Haiti, continuing to write and publish poetry and prose. In 1934, he released his first collection of short stories, The Ways of White Folks.

“Let America Be America Again”

In July 1936, Hughes published one of his most renowned poems, “Let America Be America Again,” in Esquire. This poem reflects on the unfulfilled hopes and dreams of the nation’s lower class and disadvantaged, embodying a sense of hope that the American Dream would eventually be realized. Hughes later revised and republished this poem in a small anthology called A New Song.

In 1937, he worked as a war correspondent for several American newspapers during the Spanish Civil War.

Simple Character and Stage Work

Hughes published his autobiography up to age 28, The Big Sea, in 1940. Around this time, he began writing a column for the Chicago Defender, introducing the character Jesse B. Semple, commonly known as “Simple.” This character allowed Hughes to explore urban, working-class Black themes and address racial issues. The columns gained significant popularity, leading to several books and plays centered around “Simple.”

In the late 1940s, Hughes contributed lyrics for the Broadway musical Street Scene, which featured music by Kurt Weill. The success of the musical provided Hughes with sufficient financial resources to purchase a home in Harlem. During this period, he also taught creative writing at Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University) and served as a guest lecturer at a university in Chicago.

Over the following two decades, Hughes maintained a prolific writing schedule. In 1949, he wrote a play that inspired the opera Troubled Island and published an anthology titled The Poetry of the Negro.

“Harlem”

In 1951, Hughes published another celebrated poem, “Harlem,” also known by its opening line, “A Dream Deferred.” According to the Poetry Foundation, Hughes conceived “Harlem” as part of a book-length sequence of poems titled Montage of a Dream Deferred, which also included “Theme for English B” and “Ballad of the Landlord.” The poem critiques the shortcomings of the American Dream for African Americans and inspired the title of Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun. Martin Luther King Jr. referenced “Harlem” in several of his speeches.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Hughes produced a vast array of works, including several additions to his “Simple” series, English translations of the poetry of Federico García Lorca and Gabriela Mistral, another poetry anthology, and the second volume of his autobiography, I Wonder as I Wander.

Tambourines to Glory

In 1956, Hughes began work on Tambourines to Glory: A Play with Songs, which intertwines narrative and song to depict the lives of two female street preachers in Harlem. After attempting to sell the play for two years, he eventually adapted it into a novel, which was published in 1958 to critical acclaim. The stage adaptation premiered in November 1963 at the Little Theater, featuring cast members such as Louis Gossett Jr., Clara Ward, Hilda Simms, and Rosetta LeNoire.

Sexuality

The literary community has long debated Hughes’s sexuality, with many asserting that he was gay and incorporated coded references to male lovers in his poems, following in the tradition of his major influence, Walt Whitman. Hughes never married and was not romantically linked to any women during his life. Several friends and companions, including Zell Ingram, Gilbert Price, and Ferdinand Smith, were known or believed to be gay.

Conversely, some, including Hughes’s primary biographer, have suggested he may have been asexual. Due to Hughes’s reticence about his personal life and the prevalent homophobia of his time, there remains no definitive evidence regarding his sexuality.

Accusations of Communism

According to The New York Times, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) accused Langston Hughes of having affiliations with 91 different communist organizations at various points in his life. In March 1953, Hughes was summoned to testify before Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Subcommittee on Investigations, where he was questioned about potential communist influences in his writings.

While Hughes acknowledged that his work may have been shaped by various ideologies, he categorically denied ever being a member of the Communist Party or fully subscribing to its beliefs. In his testimony, he stated, “My feeling, sir, is that I have believed in the entire philosophies of the left at one period in my life, including socialism, communism, Trotskyism. All -isms have influenced me one way or another, and I cannot answer to any specific -ism because I am not familiar with the details of them and have not read their literature,” as recorded in the transcripts of the proceedings.

Death and Legacy

Langston Hughes passed away on May 22, 1967, due to complications from prostate cancer at the age of 66.

In tribute to his poetic legacy, Hughes’ funeral featured an atmosphere filled with jazz and blues music, eschewing traditional eulogies. His ashes were interred beneath the entrance of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. The inscription marking this resting place includes a poignant line from Hughes’ poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”: “My soul has grown deep like the rivers.”

Hughes’ former residence on East 127th Street was designated as a New York City Landmark in 1981 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. His literary contributions continue to resonate globally, with numerous volumes of his work still being published and translated.

Additionally, Langston Hughes High School, completed in 2009 in Fairburn, Georgia, bears his name, as does the library at his alma mater, Lincoln University.