The Life Of Langston Hughes

     Langston Hughes was born on February 1st, 1902, in Joplin Missouri. He lived with his grandmother till the age of 13 because his parents had divorced and moved away for work. At the age of 13, Langston moved to live with his mother and her newly husband in Lincoln, Illinois. Moving to Lincoln and going through his parents divorce at a young age influenced Hughes to being writing. After high school he had gone off to Columbia University in New York for one year. In November 1924, Hughes dropped out of Columbia and moved to Washington D.C where he would soon publish his first piece of writing called The Weary Blues.

     Throughout Hughes's writing, it is easily known that his writing was influenced by the insightful, colorful, musical time period that was known as the Harlem Renaissance. His writing also talked about the many different aspects of African American culture during that time period and how it was to be separated by skin color. Hughes was able to write many different styles of literature, he had written novels, short stories, plays and as well as poetry. "His life and work were greatly important in shaping the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920's." (Poets.org, 2017) Unlike many other authors, Hughes wanted to teach with his writing. He wanted readers to see and feel the culture of his people during this time. He also wanted readers to be aware of the differences in society that took place during this time period.