Langston Hughes Accomplishments

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There has been many great authors, poets, and writers during the Harlem renaissance but the only one that comes to mind because of his dedication to beat racism for the African American people is Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes is truly one of the most accomplished and well known writers during his time. His work is widely known and has inspired many young writers to keep poetry alive. James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin Missouri.As a child Langston and his family struggled because they lived in poverty. Though Langston Hughes early life was hard but he managed to become surrounded with educated adults that motivated him to achieve a higher learning. When Hughes was a small child his father James Nathaniel…show more content…
Langston looked up to poets such as Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg, and Walt Whitman. Langston’s teachers praised him because of his dedication to school and because of the fascinating essays and poems he wrote. Langston Hughes admired Walt Whitman’s work and was inspired by him to write poetry. Walt Whitman was a transcendentalist, which was the belief that in order to become one with god you must become closer with nature. Transcendentalism intrigued Hughes; Langston was always open to different philosophies such as communism. Langston began writing jazz and black folk rhythms during his younger years which he enjoyed doing. One of his more famous pieces of work was “Negro’s speak of rivers” which was written in 1922. After high school Langston left or Mexico to live with his father. Langston’s mother warned that his father was a horrible greedy man but that didn’t stop him. After spending some time with his father and seeing what kind of man he was, Langston decided to go to college. Langston Hughes applied to the prestigious Columbia University and was accepted but was thought to be Hispanic since he was applying from…show more content…
On 1921 Langston wrote the prize winning poem “the weary blues” which also became the title of his book. Hughes enjoyed traveling to other countries such as Africa, which inspired him to write many poems. Langston Hughes primarily spent most of his time in Harlem but before he lived in Harlem he lived in Paris; he found his way there by working on a ship. Later when Langston Hughes returned to Harlem he began working as a busboy when he met the then famous poet Vachel Lindsey. Langston impressed Vachel with his poetry so she promoted his work so a larger audience could
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