Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes
Portrait by Carl Van Vechten, 1936
Born	James Mercer Langston Hughes (1901-02-01)February 1, 1901 Joplin, Missouri, U.S.
Died	May 22, 1967(1967-05-22) (aged 66) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Poet columnist dramatist essayist novelist
Education	Columbia University Lincoln University (BA)
Period	1926–1964
Relatives	Charles Henry Langston (grandfather) John Mercer Langston (uncle) Mary Sampson Patterson Leary Langston (grandmother) Lewis Sheridan Leary (grandfather)

James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901^[1] – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that "the Negro was in vogue", which was later paraphrased as "when Harlem was in vogue."^[2]

Growing up in a series of Midwestern towns, Hughes became a prolific writer at an early age. He moved to New York City as a young man, where he made his career. He graduated from high school in Cleveland, Ohio, and soon began studies at Columbia University in New York City. Although he dropped out, he gained notice from New York publishers, first in The Crisis magazine and then from book publishers, and became known in the creative community in Harlem. His first poetry collection, The Weary Blues, was published in 1926. Hughes eventually graduated from Lincoln University.

In addition to poetry, Hughes wrote plays and published short story collections, novels, and several nonfiction works. From 1942 to 1962, as the civil rights movement gained traction, Hughes wrote an in-depth weekly opinion column in a leading black newspaper, The Chicago Defender.