Langston Hughes Writing Style

Langston Hughes writes with a voice that is totally unique to him as he writes with strong emotion to the things that influenced his life. Some of which are African American life in that time period, jazz, and blues. Not to mention all the different emotions he includes. The jazz and blues provide him with a structure to write to. This used more in his poetry than his other works and it gives him a smooth voice in his poems. From the music he would use cadence, rythm, structure and sound. The emotions from his life such as despair, loneliness and humor are what provide him with words to put to these parts of music. In the end he has developed a system that turns into wonderful works of art that are known as the poems of Langston Hughes.

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes grew up without a good family life as he lived with his grandmother at the age of thirteen after he was born February 1st 1902 in Joplin Missouri. He had many jobs before he went into the writing profession. His very first poetry book, "The Weary Blues" was published in 1926. Just four years later he wrote his first novel which was named "Not Without Laughter". That very novel won him the Harmon Gold Medal. He is remembered for his insightful and colorful displays of African Amarican life in America during the twenties and sixties. His style is a very interesting and gives him a very unique voice. A very important part of what he did was that his life and work helped to shape the artistic contruibutions to the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920's. Sadly he died in the year of 1967 in New York. Throughout his life he had written sixteen poem books, two novels, three collections of short stories, four volumes of "editorial" and "documentary" fiction, twenty plays, children's poetry, musicals and operas, three autobiographies, a dozen radio and television scripts and a bunch of magazine articles. In addition, he edited seven anthologies. This is quite a resume for a writer especially since the era he wrote in was a very tough financial one.