Langston Hughes

(1 February 1902 – 22 May 1967 / Missouri)

poet Langston Hughes
#5 on top 500 poets
Langston Hughes
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Langston Hughes Poems

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Hughes 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 "Harlem was in vogue."

Biography

Ancestry and Childhood

Both of Hughes' paternal and maternal great-grandmothers were African-American, his maternal great-grandfather was white and of Scottish descent. A paternal great-grandfather was of European Jewish descent. Hughes's maternal grandmother Mary Patterson was of African-American, French, English and Native American descent. One of... more »

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Quotations

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  • ''I was so sick last night I
    Didn't hardly know my mind.
    So sick last night I
    Didn't know my mind.
    I drunk some bad licker that
    Almost made me blind.''
    Langston Hughes (1902-1967), U.S. poet. Morning After (l. 1-6). . . Selected Poems of Langston Hughes. (1959) Vintage Books.
    3725 person liked.
    		1645 person did not like.
  • ''Way Down South in Dixie
    (Break the heart of me)
    They hung my black young lover
    To a cross roads tree.''
    Langston Hughes (1902-1967), U.S. poet. Song for a Dark Girl (l. 1-4). . . Selected Poems of Langston Hughes. (1959) Vintage Books.
    3184 person liked.
    		1343 person did not like.
  • ''Love is a naked shadow
    On a gnarled and naked tree.''
    Langston Hughes (1902-1967), U.S. poet. Song for a Dark Girl (l. 11-12). . . Selected Poems of Langston Hughes. (1959) Vintage Books.
    2504 person liked.
    		1108 person did not like.
  • ''I swear to the Lord
    I still can't see
    Why Democracy means
    Everybody but me.''
    Langston Hughes (1902-1967), U.S. poet, author. The Black Man Speaks, Jim Crow's Last Stand (1943).
    2913 person liked.
    		977 person did not like.
  • ''here
    to this college on the hill above Harlem
    I am the only colored student in my class.''
    Langston Hughes (1902-1967), U.S. poet. Theme for English B (l. 8-10). . . Selected Poems of Langston Hughes. (1959) Vintage Books.
    679 person liked.
    		272 person did not like.
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Comments about Langston Hughes

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  • Janette Thurman(7/7/2019 11:05:00 AM)

    I want to read the words to this poem (wealth)

    0 person liked.
    		1 person did not like.
  • RINALDO BUTERA(6/16/2019 3:57:00 PM)

    O VER 50 YEARS AGO, IWAS A TEATRE STUDENTE AND I STUDY UNA OBRA DE LONGSTON HUGHES, TITULADA " MULATO" SE TRATAVA DEL MAL TRATO DE LOS NEGROS POR LOS CAPITALISTAS BLANCO

    0 person liked.
    		0 person did not like.
  • me and the boys(6/5/2019 5:14:00 PM)

    fortnite sucks lol

    2 person liked.
    		0 person did not like.
  • Nword(5/14/2019 9:00:00 PM)

    Whites only, dont want thungs niggering up my grannys car

    3 person liked.
    		6 person did not like.
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  • Mr.Ebiye(5/6/2019 3:35:00 PM)

    Please answer my comment

    4 person liked.
    		12 person did not like.
  • Mr.Ebiye Otele(5/6/2019 3:34:00 PM)

    Where is Langston Hughes dream deferred

    4 person liked.
    		7 person did not like.
  • Jasmine Rodriguez(5/4/2019 11:37:00 PM)

    Lovely ........so emotional😍😍😍😍

    6 person liked.
    		7 person did not like.
  • oop popopo(5/1/2019 10:03:00 AM)

    i love kids

    5 person liked.
    		10 person did not like.
Read all 292 comments »
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Best Poem of Langston Hughes

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.

Read the full of Dreams
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