Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that "the negro was in vogue" which was later paraphrased as "when Harlem was in vogue".
Read more about Langston Hughes: Career, Political Views, Representation in Other Media, Literary Archives, Honors and Awards, Further Reading
Famous quotes by langston hughes:
“I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes.
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.”
—Langston Hughes (1902–1967)
“In the middle of the next century, when the literary establishment will reflect the multicultural makeup of this country and not be dominated by assimiliationists with similar tastes, from similar backgrounds, and of similar pretensions, Langston Hughes will be to the twentieth century what Walt Whitman was to the nineteenth.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)
“While over Alabama earth
These words are gently spoken:
Serve—and hate will die unborn.
Love—and chains are broken.”
—Langston Hughes (20th century)
“I swear to the Lord
I still can’t see
Why Democracy means
Everybody but me.”
—Langston Hughes (1902–1967)
“here
to this college on the hill above Harlem
I am the only colored student in my class.”
—Langston Hughes (1902–1967)