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James Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, MO on 1 February 1902.
His grandmother raised Hughes until he was twelve, when he moved to Lincoln, IL, to live with his mother. It was during his high school years that he began writing poetry. Following graduation from high school, Hughes spent a year in Mexico, a year at Columbia University, and then traveled to Africa and Europe. He finished his college education at Lincoln University in PA. Hughes was a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.
Although Hughes considered himself a poet first, he also wrote novels, short stories and plays. Some of Hughes most noted works of poetry include: The Weary Blues (1926); The Negro Mother and other Dramatic Recitations (1931); The Dream Keeper (1932); Shakespeare In Harlem (1942); Fields of Wonder (1947); One Way Ticket (1947); The First Book of Jazz (1955); Tambourines To Glory (1958); Selected Poems (1959); and The Best of Simple (1961).
Hughes died of cancer on 22 May 1967 in Harlem, NY. His block of East 127th Street was renamed "Langston Hughes Place."
