Langston Hughes

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Langston Hughes

• 1902-1967

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Langston Hughes

• James Mercer Langston Hughes
• Born in Joplin, Missouri in 1902
• He attended college at Lincoln University in
  Pennsylvania
• He also attend Columbia University in New York

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Poet

• First poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers was
  published in a magazine in 1921
• Then he moved to Paris.

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The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Ive known river Ive known rivers ancient as
the world and older than the flow of human
blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like
the rivers. I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns
were young. I built my hut near the Congo and it
lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile an
raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing
of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went
down to New Orleans, and Ive seen its muddy
bosom turn all golden in the sunset. Ive known
river Ancient, dusky river. My soul has grown
deep like the rivers.
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Hughes

• After he returned from Paris he moved to
  Washington D.C.
• He worked as a busboy while he lived in
  Washington D.C.

• In 1925 he left three of his poems at a famous
  poets, table while he was working as a bus boy.
• The poet, Vachel Lindsey, helped Hughes publicize
  his work.

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Poetry

• Hughes was known for creating poetry that sounded
  musical, rhythmic, and improvised.
• In the 1920s he was an important figure in the
  Harlem Renaissance.
• He was known as the Poet Laureate of Harlem.

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Hughes
Broadway
In 1935 he wrote a play called Mulatto, which
was performed on Broadway 373 times.
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Traveler and Writer

• He traveled to Russia, Haiti, and Japan.
• He spent 3 years in Madrid, Spain working as a
  reporter for a Baltimore newspaper.
• In the 1940s he wrote a column for the New York
  Post.

• He wrote about a character named Simple.
• He wrote more than 50 books in his life, but he
  is best known for his poetry.
• In the 1940 he got involved in social causes.

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I, Too, Sing America
Tomorrow, Ill be at the table When company
comes. Nobodyll dare Say to me, Eat in the
kitchen, Besides, Theyll see how beautiful I
am And be ashamed--- I, too, am America.
I, too, sing America I am the darker
brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When
company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And
grow strong.
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The End