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Person · 1902–1967

Langston Hughes

The poet laureate of Black America, whose jazz-infused verse gave the Harlem Renaissance its voice.

The defining poet of the [[harlem-renaissance]].

Langston Hughes celebrated ordinary Black life in poems that swung with the rhythms of blues and jazz, from "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" to "Harlem" ("What happens to a dream deferred?"). He insisted on the beauty and dignity of Black culture for half a century.

The Harlem RenaissanceLiterature

On the timeline

  1. March 1925
    The Harlem Renaissance flowers

    Alain Locke's "The New Negro" anthology announces a generation of Black artistic genius.

  2. 1926
    Langston Hughes' "The Weary Blues"

    Hughes' first poetry collection defines the Harlem Renaissance voice.

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