Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was a central voice of the Harlem Renaissance whose poetry, fiction, plays, and journalism brought African American life and culture into wider literary view. His work drew heavily on the rhythms of blues and jazz, while addressing racial identity, inequality, and the dignity of ordinary people. Hughes also wrote the novel *Not Without Laughter*, the poetry collection *The Weary Blues*, and the enduringly popular Jesse B. Semple stories.