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Langston Hughes Facts & Worksheets

Langston Hughes was an African-American poet and social activist who is considered one of the first innovators of jazz poetry and a key figure of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s.

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Langston Hughes was an African-American poet and social activist who is considered one of the first innovators of jazz poetry and a key figure of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. He also wrote novels, plays, essays, short stories, and a column in a major newspaper. Hughes is best known for spotlighting the African-American experience in his writings.

See the fact file below for more information on Langston Hughes, or you can download our 26-page Langston Hughes worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY

  • James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902, in the southwestern city of Joplin, Missouri. 
  • He came from a lineage of enslaved African American women and white slave owners in Kentucky.
  • He was the second of two children of James Nathaniel Hughes and Carrie Langston, who divorced soon after his birth.
  • His father relocated to Mexico, while his mother lived in different places during his youth.
  • Young Langston was raised by his maternal grandmother, Mary.
  • After his grandmother Mary died when he was around 12 years old, Hughes went to live with his mother and stepfather in Lincoln, Illinois.
  • They moved around before settling in Cleveland, Ohio.
  • According to his autobiography published in 1940, Hughes found solace in literature during this time: “I began to believe in nothing but books and the wonderful world in books—where if people suffered, they suffered in beautiful language, not in monosyllables, as we did in Kansas.”

EDUCATION AND BEGINNINGS IN POETRY

  • Hughes began to compose poetry in high school.
  • He cited that his major influences were Carl Sandburg, Walt Whitman, and Paul Laurence Dunbar.
  • He also wrote regularly for his school’s literary magazine.
  • After graduating from high school in 1920, he traveled to Mexico and lived with his father for a year despite having a distant relationship with him.
  • Hughes had hoped his father would provide assistance for his higher education at Columbia University, which he ultimately did.
  • During this time with his father, Hughes wrote “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” a poem published in The Crisis (the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and garnered him high praise.
  • Hughes returned to the United States in 1921.
  • He studied for a year at Columbia University, where his pivotal life experience of becoming part of the cultural movement called Harlem Renaissance happened.
  • He dropped out of Columbia and worked odd jobs in New York.

TIME IN EUROPE

  • In 1923, he signed on to be a crewman on a freighter and spent six months traveling to West Africa and Europe. 
  • He left the crew and stopped off in Paris where he lived briefly and kept working on his poetry.
  • In November 1924, he moved back to the United States and lived with his mother in Washington, D.C.

“THE WEARY BLUES”

  • While working as a busboy in a hotel restaurant in D.C., Hughes met poet Vachel Lindsay who was impressed with his work and promoted it to a wider audience.
  • In 1925, Hughes’s poem “The Weary Blues” won first prize at a poetry competition by Opportunity magazine.
  • He was then granted a scholarship opportunity at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.
  • While in Lincoln, Hughes’s work was noticed by Harlem Renaissance art patron Carl Van Vechten.
  • With Carl Van Vechten’s support and connections, Hughes got his first book of poetry titled “The Weary Blues,” published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1926. 
  • The book garnered praise for Hughes’s fresh voice and African-American-centric themes.
  • He was one of the earliest poets to use jazz rhythms and dialect to convey the experiences and heritage of urban Black people.
  • Also, in 1926, he published a manifesto entitled “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” in The Nation, further establishing his voice in Black literature.
  • A part of the manifesto read, “We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame.”

FLOURISHING CAREER

  • Hughes’s style and subject matter significantly shaped the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s.
  • His second volume of poetry, “Fine Clothes to the Jew,” was published in 1927.
  • He graduated from Lincoln University in 1929.
  • In 1930, Hughes published his first novel titled “Not Without Laughter,” a commercial hit that won the Harmon gold medal for literature.
  • The 1930s marked a period of many travels for Hughes, who had lecture tours across the United States as well as trips to the Soviet Union, Japan, and Haiti. 
  • He also became a newspaper correspondent in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. 
  • In 1934, he published his first short story collection, “The Ways of White Folks.”
  • One of his most renowned poems, “Let America Be America Again,” which tackled the unfulfilled hopes and dreams of the lower and marginalized classes, was published in 1936.
  • Langston Hughes published his autobiography up to age 28, “The Big Sea,” in 1940.

“SIMPLE”

  • In the early 1940s, Hughes started to write a weekly column in the leading Black newspaper The Chicago Defender.
  • In the column, he created a character named Jesse B. Semple, popularly known as “Simple,” a Black Everyman whose experiences were used to tackle working-class Black themes and racial consciousness.
  • Simple later became the subject of a series of books by Langston Hughes, such as “Simple Speaks His Mind” (1950), “Simple Takes a Wife (1953),” and “Simple Stakes a Claim” (1957), among others.

MORE POETRY, PLAYS, AND PROSE

  • In 1930, he wrote his first play, “Mule Bone,” with Zora Neale Hurston.
  • His first Broadway play, “Mulatto”, became Broadway’s longest-running play written by a Black author until Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” in 1958.
  • He also wrote the lyrics for the 1947 Broadway musical “Street Scene.”
  • In 1951, he published one of his most acclaimed poems, “Harlem (A Dream Deferred).”
  • Hughes wrote more about African-American culture in  “The Poetry of the Negro” (1949), “A Pictorial History of the Negro in America” (1956), and “The Book of Negro Folklore” (1958, with Arna Bontemps).”
  • In the 1950s and ’60s, Hughes wrote a “First Book” series of children’s books, patriotic stories about Black culture and achievements, including “The First Book of Negroes” (1952), “The First Book of Jazz” (1955), and “The Book of Negro Folklore” (1958).
  • In 1956, he published the second volume of his autobiography, “I Wonder as I Wander.” His poem about the Black Power movement, “The Panther and the Lash,” was published posthumously in 1967.
  • His poetry for children, “The Block” and “The Sweet and Sour Animal Book,” were also published posthumously.

DEATH AND LEGACY

  • Langston Hughes died of complications from prostate cancer at age 65 on May 22, 1967.
  • To honor his legacy, his home at 20 East 127th Street in Harlem was given landmark status by the New York City Preservation Commission.
  • East 127th Street has also been renamed “Langston Hughes Place.”
  • His ashes were interred in Harlem’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and a special inscription featuring a line from his poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” marks the spot: “My soul has grown deep like the rivers.”

Langston Hughes Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Langston Hughes across 26 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Langston Hughes. He wrote novels, plays, essays, short stories, and a column in a major newspaper. Hughes is best known for spotlighting the African-American experience in his writings.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Langston Hughes Facts
  2. Life of Langston
  3. Milestone Timeline
  4. Quick Questions
  5. Harlem Manifesto
  6. Lessons from Poems
  7. Harlem Renaissance Poets
  8. Poem Analysis
  9. Hughes’ Huge Influence
  10. True or False?
  11. Hughes-Inspired Poem

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Langston Hughes?

Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was a prominent figure of the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural movement that celebrated African American arts and literature during the 1920s and 1930s.

What are some of Langston Hughes’s most famous works?

Hughes is best known for his poetry, and some of his most famous works include “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” “Harlem (Dream Deferred),” “I, Too,” and “Mother to Son.” His writing often explored themes of African American identity, racial inequality, and the African American experience in America.

How did Langston Hughes contribute to the Harlem Renaissance?

Langston Hughes played a crucial role in the Harlem Renaissance by writing about the everyday lives and experiences of African Americans, celebrating their culture and heritage. His poetry and essays provided a voice for African Americans during a time when their stories were often overlooked by mainstream literature.

What was Hughes’s writing style like?

Hughes’s writing style was characterized by its simplicity, musicality, and use of vernacular language. He often incorporated elements of blues and jazz music into his poetry, creating a unique and distinct voice that resonated with a wide audience.

How did Langston Hughes impact American literature and society?

Langston Hughes’s works had a profound impact on American literature and society. He contributed to the recognition and appreciation of African American literature and culture, challenging stereotypes and racial prejudice. Through his art and activism, Hughes helped pave the way for future generations of African American writers and artists, inspiring social change and promoting racial equality. His legacy continues to influence writers and readers alike, leaving an indelible mark on American literature and history.

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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