Langston Hughes

February 1, 1901 — Joplin, Missouri, USA

An influential American writer from the early to mid 20th century. Beginning with the publication of "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" in 1921, Hughes first captured the public's imagination as a poet. A versatile writer, Hughes was also adept in writing short stories, novels, plays, and non-fiction. His work often focused on the lives of ordinary people and frequently employed humor, social commentary, and folk wisdom in his writing. In the late 1930s he began writing for Hollywood, but his time there was short lived due to a variety of factors, not least of which was the racism prevalent in the industry at that time. During his lifetime, he received one feature film credit for writing "Way Down South" (1939) with Clarence Muse. In the early 1960s, his play "Black Nativity" was produced for British television.