Langston Hughes

Biography

• James Mercer Langston Hughes
• Born February 1, 1902
• In Joplin, Missouri 

his early life

• His parents divorced when he was a young child
• He was raised by his grandmother until he was thirteen.
•  He moved to Lincoln, Illinois, to live with his mother
• He started to write poetry

know for...

• He wrote novels, short stories,  plays and poetry
• Also  hes known for his engagement with the world of jazz
• Also know for his Influence on his writing
• His first poem Montage of a Dream Deferred  (1951).

He wanted to tell the stories of his people in ways that reflected their actual culture including both their suffering and their love of music and language.

Many of Langston Hughes’s poems invoke the theme of the American Dream. At the end of his poems he reveals his belief that African Americans (and others) will one day be free to pursue their dreams.

DREAMS
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow

The theme of this poem is to never give up; its moral is that giving up its like dying.

This poem encourage the people oppressed by racism to continue the good fight and be positive that one day they will see their dreams become reality.

Langston Hughes died of complications from cancer
In May 22, 1967
In New York City

The end