Early life
A. Born February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri (“Langston Hughes”).
B. Parents divorced. Father moved to Mexico (“Langston Hughes”).
C. Moved to Lawrence, Kansas to live with grandmother. His grandmother taught him to
take pride in his color (Ast 3).
D. At 13, moved to Lincoln, Illinois, where Hughes took an interest in poetry (“Langston
Hughes”).
E. Moved again to Cleveland, Ohio where his stepfather found a job. Wrote first jazz
poetry called When Sue Wears Red (Ast 3).
F. Went to Mexico to convince dad to pay tuition fees for Columbia University in New
York. Dad did not want to at first but eventually agreed if Hughes majored in
engineering (Ast 3). This was in 1919.
G. After a year in college, he dropped out to pursue his writing career (Ast. 3).
II. Places lived or worked
A. Born Joplin, Missouri (“Langston Hughes”)
B. Moved to Lawrence, Kansas after father left him (Ast 4)
C. At 13, moved to Lincoln, Illinois (“Langston Hughes”)
D. In adolescent years, moved with stepfather and mom to Cleveland, Ohio (Ast 4)
E. In 1919, lived in Mexico with dad for a year (Ast 3)
F. 1920, went to Columbia University in New York but dropped out (Ast 3)
G. Traveled to Europe and Africa as a crewman. Stayed in Paris for six months and was
surprised by the friendliness compared to the U.S. (Ast 6)
H. November 1924, moved to Washington D.C to live with mother. He hoped to save
more money and major in English Literature (Ast 7).
III. Artistic Medium
A. Jazz Poetry
1. African-American voting rights (Ast)
2. African-American civil rights (Ast)
B. Short stories
1. Often depicted black life (Poetry Foundation)
2. Known for a their simplicity (Poetry Foundation)
IV. Famous pieces of work
A. The Weary Blues was a poem he wrote in 1925 that was critically acclaimed and won
an award, the first award that Hughes ever won. The Weary Blues is also the name of
the first poetry book that Hughes ever published in 1926 (Ast 3).
B. The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain in 1926 was one of his most powerful
poems (Ast 7)
C. Fine Clothes to the Jew his second book of poetry in 1927. The publication of both
books made Hughes one of the most famous black writers in the country (Ast 8).
V. Interesting Facts
A. Langston Hughes had many jobs after dropping out of college (“Langston Hughes”)
1. Assistant cook
2. Launderer
3. Busboy
4. Ship crewman
B. In Harlem, became involved with the Harlem Renaissance
C. Hughes was one of the first to use jazz poetry, which resembles impromptu
D. Hughes’ grandmother was an inspiration to take pride in race
E. Even though James Nathaniel Hughes (Langston’s father) was African American
descent, he had a strong hatred towards blacks
VI. Impact on society
A. Langston Hughes showed that it is possible for blacks to become influential in a white
society (Poetry Foundation)
B. Hughes also used simple writing to show black life in a racist society (Poetry
Foundation)
C. Hughes had a huge impact during the Harlem Renaissance to show the inequalities
that blacks had to face (Poetry Foundation).
