ABOUT

Langston Hughes

James Mercer Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1901, in Joplin, Missouri. After graduating from high school, he spent a year in Mexico followed by a year at Columbia University in New York City. He finished his college education at Lincoln University. In 1930 his first novel, Not Without Laughter, won the Harmon gold medal for literature.

Hughes is particularly known for his insightful portrayals of black life in America from the twenties through the sixties. He wrote novels, short stories, plays, and poetry, and is also known for his engagement with the world of jazz. His life and work were enormously important in shaping the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s.

Langston Hughes died of complications from prostate cancer on May 22, 1967, in New York City. In his memory, his residence at 20 East 127th Street in Harlem has been given landmark status by the New York City Preservation Commission, and East 127th Street has been renamed “Langston Hughes Place.”

His ashes are interred beneath the foyer floor of the Arthur Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. The design on the floor medallion reads, “My soul has grown deep like the rivers.”