Harlem
Langston Hughes
Biography of Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on Feb. 1, 1902 in Japlin, Missouri. Langston Hughes was an American poet, novelist, and a playwright whose African American themes made him a primary contributor to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. He published his first poem in 1921. Hughes attended Columbia University, but he left after a year for travel. His parents were James Hughes and Carrie Langston. They divorced soon after his birth and his dad moved to Mexico. His mother moved around a lot, so he was raised by his maternal grandmothers.