Langston Hughes played a central role in the Harlem Renaissance, by using his literary works to voice out his concerns about the unfair treatment of African Americans. He was the most prolific writer of his time with his works widely known in the realm of racial and social justice. His works boded well with the movement for racial equality.

Outline

Early Life

1. He was born in February 1, 1902, in Missouri. His parents separated almost immediately after his birth, his father immigrating to Mexico.
2. His mother was always absent, moving from one city to the other looking for jobs.

iii.   He lived with his maternal grandmother, Mary Patterson Langston up to early teens when she died.

1. He later joined his mother, and they both moved around different cities until they finally settled in Cleveland, Ohio where he attended high school (Biography.com, 2013).
2. His early life was marked by poverty

Literary Career

1. a)   Introduced to poetry by two of his high school teachers; Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman (Biography.com, 2013).
2. b)   He regularly contributed to his schools magazine and other poetry magazines.
3. c)   After high school, his poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” was published in magazine called ‘The Crisis’ (Bioghraphy.com, 2013) and it received lots of praise.
4. d)   He dropped out of Columbia University after his funds ran out, and went to Paris where he continued with his poetry, publishing some of his works.
5. e)   American poet Vachel Lindsay used his connections to bring Hughes work to a wider audience.
6. f)   Hughes poem, “The Weary Blues” won the literary competition sponsored by Opportunity magazine in 1925, winning him the prestigious Spingarn Award which helped financed his studies at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.
7. g)   Was able publish several of his works during and after his studies at Lincoln University. His literary works included plays, novels, poetry volumes, anthologies, autobiographies and even music lyrics.
8. h)   Some of the poetic titles included The Negro Mother, The Dream Keeper and Montage of and Dream Deferred

Critical Reviews

1. a)   James Baldwin
2. b)   Donald D Dickinson
3. c)   Laurence Lieberman

Later Life

1. a)   During the Spanish Civil War, he reported for several American newspapers as their correspondent.
2. b)   Was the first Black Americans to support himself through writing and lecture (Hampson, 2013).
3. c)   He died out of complications resulting from prostate cancer.

My Impressions

1. a)   Was committed to writing, eventually making a living out of it.
2. b)   Never veered of the path of social justice, showing how central this theme was to him
3. c)   Was prolific writer, spreading his wings in many areas of literature.

References

Hampson, T. (2013). I Hear America Singing. Retrieved October 31, 2013 from

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ihas/poet/hughes.html

Biography.com.(2013). Langston Hughes. Retrieved October 31, 2013 from

http://www.biography.com/people/langston-hughes-9346313?page=2