Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, novelist, playwright, and newspaper columnist.

Early career

Like many writers of the post-WWI era, such as Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein, Hughes spent time in Paris during the early 1920s. For most of 1924 he lived at 15 Rue de Nollet. In November 1924 Hughes moved to Washington D.C. His first book of poetry, The Weary Blues, was published in 1926. In 1929 he graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, a historically Black institution. In 1930, his first novel, Not Without Laughter, won the Harmon gold medal for literature. Hughes, who claimed Paul Laurence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg, and Walt Whitman as his primary influences, is particularly known for his insightful, colorful portrayals of black life in America from the 1920s through the 1960s.

Related Topics:
WWI - Ernest Hemingway - Gertrude Stein - Paris - 1920s - 1924 - Washington D.C. - 1926 - 1929 - Lincoln University - Pennsylvania - Historically Black institution - 1930 - Novel - Paul Laurence Dunbar - Carl Sandburg - Walt Whitman - 1960s

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