Langston Hughes born “James Mercer Langston Hughes”  was born on February 1st, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. During his early childhood he was raised by his grandmother until he was 13 then moved to Illinois  to live with his mother and her husband at the time. Even though he started writing poetry when he was in High School or a little bit before then, he moved around a lot from Mexico to New York City. Hughes held several jobs  during his such as cook, assistant, launderer and busboy. In 1926, Hughes first book of poetry was published titled, “The Weary Blues” and was published by Alfred A. Knopf. Also after he finished college at Lincoln University, in 1930 his first novel “Not Without Laughter” was published by Knopf, which ended up winning the Harmon gold medal for literature. Hughes was also known for his knowledge and views on black life in America. Hughes’ belief in humanity and belief that people of all walks of life could understand each other and get along ultimately led to his popularity downfall.  Hughes also wrote 11 plays and multiple prose poems, which included his well known series of books called “Simple’. Unfortunately, Hughes died of prostate cancer on May 22, 1967 in New York City.

https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/langston-hughes

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/langston-hughes