Langston Hughes

Basics

• born February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri
• started poetry in his teens
• studied at lincoln university in pennsylvania

Importance

•  He wrote novels, short stories and plays, as well as poetry
• got involved in jazz and the Harlem renaissance movement 
• book-length poem Montage of a Dream Deferred (Holt, 1951)
• Modern Black Poets: A Collection of Critical Essays 

Legacy

• wrote mostly about and for the black community
• his poems showed the complications and life of black people
• died May 22, 1967, in New York City

"The Negro Mother'

• "...till no white brother dares keep down the children of the negro mother"
• he discusses how black mothers will not allow their children to be denied
• this is reflected in the raisin in the sun
• 'mama' still cares about her kids and their dreams, despite their struggles

"A Dream Deferred"

• this is prominent in a raisin in the sun
• someones dream will be deferred because 'mama cant give them all money'
• walter will be denied his dream of a liquor store

"Helen Keller"

• "she, in the dark, found light"
• black people are currently in the dark and will find light, like hellen 
• they were oppressed and can revolt to find their own light