Letters, manuscripts, and photographs that document the life of the African-American poet.
The career of James Langston Hughes (1902-1967), a central figure during the Harlem Renaissance, spanned five decades. He wrote poetry, short stories, plays, newspaper columns, children’s books, and pictorial histories. He also edited several volumes of prose and fiction by African-American and African writers. Through his writing and through his extensive travels and lecture tours he came into direct contact with an amazing array of writers, artists, activists, and performers of the twentieth century. The Langston Hughes Papers span the years 1862-1980. A view of the life and work of the poet and American literary icon as seen through personal snapshots, pages of manuscripts, printed items, sheet music, and ephemera documenting his wide travels and public appearances.
History of the Collection: Gift of Langston Hughes and bequest of the estate of Langston Hughes, ca. 1940-67.
The Collection: The Langston Hughes Papers contain letters, manuscripts, personal items, photographs, clippings, artworks, and objects that document the life of the well-known African-American poet. Currently, only a portion of these papers are available online.
To enjoy the full collection, click HERE.
He traveled throughout the South with Zora Neale Hurston.
He met—and became friends with—fellow writer Countee Cullen at a poetry reading.
He wrote an opera with composer James P. Johnson.
He praised Bessie Smith in his essay "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain".
Patron Charlotte Mason supported him financially and emotionally.
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/interactives/harlem/faces/langston_hughes.html
Langston Hughes (1902–1967) ? By Winold Reiss (1886–1953) / Pastel on illustration board, ca. 1925 / 30 1/16 x 21 5/8 in. (76.3 x 54.9 cm) /
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of W. Tjark Reiss, in memory of his father, Winold Reiss
Lauded as the "Poet Laureate of Harlem" in the 1920s, Langston Hughes was one of the first African Americans to earn a living solely as a writer. Hughes was known mainly for his poetry. But he also wrote plays, novels, a wealth of nonfiction pieces, and even an opera.
In his explorations of race, social justice, and African-American culture and art, Hughes' writing vividly captures the political, social, and artistic climates of Harlem in the 1920s and 1930s.
After a transitory adolescence, Hughes moved to Harlem in 1926, where he worked with and befriended such artists, writers, and scholars as Aaron Douglas, Countee Cullen, and Alain Locke. Infused and inspired by the jazz and blues that surrounded him at hot spots such as the Savoy Ballroom, Hughes weaved the rhythms of contemporary music into his poems. Often his writing riffed on the energy of life in Harlem itself.
In his path-breaking poem "The Weary Blues," singled out for a literary award by Opportunity magazine in 1924, Langston Hughes combined black vernacular speech with blues rhythms, breaking from traditional literary forms. The recognition encouraged Hughes to publish his first collection of poetry, likewise entitled The Weary Blues.
Explore the “Drop Me Off in Harlem” website for more on the faces of the Harlem Renaissance.
Named in honor of the first African American to make his living solely by his pen, the Langston Hughes Society is a national association of scholars, teachers, creative and performing artists, students, and lay persons who seek to increase awareness and appreciation of Langston Hughes (1 February 1902–22 May 1967).
The Langston Hughes Review, founded in 1982, is the official publication of the Langston Hughes Society. Under the editorship of Dr. Tony Bolden, the LHR returned to print in 2019.
