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=Langston Hughes by Courtney Brenner=

__ Langston Hughes  __ Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902. He was raised in Joplin Missouri by his mother and grandparents. His father had left to go live in Mexico when he was a very young boy. As a child his mother was usually out finding a job so he was left with his grandparents. This was very hard for him as a young boy, and instead of turning to violence or making poor judgments he turned to books and continued to read throughout his lifetime. Once his grandmother died in 1910 he went to live with his mother and stepfather in Cleveland, Ohio. Once living there he attended Central High School and wrote for the high school literary magazine, and the school year book as the editor. After graduating high school and visiting his father in Mexico he enrolled at Columbia University. After concluding his freshman year he dropped out and worked in various places to support his mother. In 1923 Hughes traveled on a merchant freighter to West Africa. While on the ship he resigned as a cabin boy he resided in France and Italy. After living in poverty in France and Italy he returned to the United States in 1925. Once he returned he continued to write poetry and studied the rhythms of the Blues and Jazz he came across while living in France. When he found a job as a busboy in a hotel in Washington, D.C. the poet Vachel Lindsay had discovered Hughes and read his poems in front of an audience. This was Hughes’s big break. Soon after, the media was eager to hear more of his work. A short time later the critic Carl Van Vechten had helped Hughes publish his first book. The book was named the Weary Blues (1926) and showed the nightlife in Harlem. This time in his life was when he started to focus on writing about the lives and cultures of his fellow African Americans. Though his works, Hughes is trying to show the trial and tribulations the blacks and people of other cultures go through. Some themes he explores in his writing are Race and Racism; and Identity. In his theme Race and Racism he shows the voice of an uneducated African American in most of his writing. Identity is explored by him showing the inherent contrast caused by crossing the experienced party in a relationship (Poetry for Students). The style of his writing is also very personalized to what he feels. He uses rhythms of ordinary, everyday speech. He wanted to more closely relate rhythms and word choice of an African American background. Hughes wants to educate people through his writing of the hardships that the African Americans he lived with or grew up around, and what they went through. His writing is a reflection of this time period because during this time African Americans were trying to gain respect and the same rights ans the other people that lived around them. This time period shows how they struggled and fought for their own rights. Hughes contributes education to people around the world of his life and the lives of his ancestors. Overall Hughes’s vision was to educate and show people around the world of the trials faced by African Americans during this period, and to show what they were able to achieve in life. __ Bibliography  __ __ Books: __ Smith, Valerie. "Langston Hughes."__African American Writers__. 2. 2001.  The book __African American Writers__ by Valerie Smith contained detailed information about Langston Hughes’s life. This is where I was able to find interesting facts and awards that he received. This book also gave me an overall look of his vision of writing. I plan to use this source to lead up to events that lead to his most greatest works. I would recommend that this book add pictures to help visualize what his life was like growing up since it states so many facts about his childhood. Rose, Marie. "Langston Hughes."__Peotry for Students__; volume 3. 1998. This __Book Poetry for Students__ by Marie Rose contains the writing styles and themes of Langston Hughes. In this book I was able to find exactly what he was feeling and thinking of when he wrote his famous poetry and book. This book gave me a sense of “ahh” because he mostly wrote about an uneducated African American. I wish that the book would have contained more detail and went into more depth about his style. __ Databases: __ Authors, Discovering. "Langston Hughes." 2003. Literary Reference Center. <[|http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/imfomark.do>. This database contains biographical information about Langston Hughes’s life. Here I was able to find out about a lot of information about his adventures and how he started to become a book lover. I plan to use this information to show how he got started writing literary references to talk about his life. I wish this article contained more about his work. Waldron, "The Blues Poetry of Langston Hughes." __Negro American Literature Forum__ 1971. Literary Reference Center. <[|http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/imfomark.do>.] This database contains information about the styles of Langston Hughes’s writing. IN the site I was able to find information about the way he wrote his poems and how he used music to influence the way his poems flowed together. I wish this database contained more information about why he decided to write this way and how it worked so well for him.