Langston Hughes

Hello! My name is Langston Hughes. I was born a long time ago, on February 1st, 1902, in a town called Joplin, Missouri. Even when I was a little boy, I loved words. I loved how they sounded when you said them out loud and how they fit together in books to tell amazing stories. My family moved around a lot when I was growing up, but no matter where I lived, I always had my books and my imagination with me. Words were my best friends.

When I was in the eighth grade, something wonderful happened that helped me find my voice. My teacher announced that our class needed to choose a class poet, and all of my classmates picked me. At first, I thought it was just because I was good at making words rhyme. But that moment made me realize that I could write poems that other people would really enjoy reading. After that, I started writing all the time. I wrote about the world I saw around me, the things I felt inside, and especially about the lives of Black people. I wanted my poems to sound like our music—like jazz and the blues—full of feeling and a special rhythm.

As a young man in the 1920s, I moved to a very special neighborhood in New York City called Harlem. It was the most exciting place to be. This time was so full of art and music that we now call it the Harlem Renaissance. All around me, Black artists were painting beautiful pictures, musicians were playing wonderful jazz music that made you want to dance, and writers like me were telling our stories for everyone to hear. In 1926, I published my very first book of poems, which I called 'The Weary Blues.' I felt so proud to share my words with the world and to be a part of such a creative and important time.

I spent the rest of my life writing all sorts of things—more poems, stories for children and grown-ups, and even plays for the stage. I traveled the world and wrote about the amazing people I met along the way. I lived to be 65 years old, and my whole life was filled with words and stories. Today, people still read my poems in schools and libraries all over the world. People say my words helped give a voice to the feelings and dreams of Black Americans. I hope my poems help you feel understood, hopeful, and proud of who you are, too.