James Mercer Langston Hughes
- Poet, Novelist, & Playwright
- Influenced by Carl Sandburg, Walt Whitman, and D.E.B. Du Bois
- Key figure in the Harlem Renaissance
- Graduated from Lincoln University, Pennsylvania in 1929
- Published more than 35 books & hated "long novels [and] narrative poems"
- Founded black theatre groups in Harlem, Chicago, and Los Angeles
Published Works
Technique
Use Langston in the
Classroom!
Poems/Books of Verses
- Rhythmical language often set to music
- "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," in Crisis (1921)
- The Weary Blues (1926)
- Fine Clothes to the Jew (1927)
- Montage of a Dream Deferred (1951)
- The Panther and the Lash (1967)
Social Studies
Themes
Harlem Renaissance
Civil Rights
Novels/Books
English/Language Arts
- Not Without Laughter (1930)
- Famous American Negroes (1954)
- Simple Speaks His Mind (1950)
- Racial Relationships in the US
- The everyday life of an African American
- Portrayal of people whose lives were impacted by racism, prejudice, sexual conflicts, poverty
- Southern violence
- Harlem street life
Plays
Fine Arts/Music
- The Golden Piece (1921)
- The Mulatto (1935)
The Dream Keeper
Snippet
Bring me all of your dreams,
You dreamer,
Bring me all your
Heart melodies
That I may wrap them
In a blue cloud-cloth
Away from the too-rough fingers
Of the world.
Dreams
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.