Langston Hughes

First published in 1930, "Not Without Laughter" is the debut novel by Langston Hughes and a deeply personal, semi-autobiographical tale of an African-American family in rural Kansas. Langston Hughes, born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri, spent much of his youth in Lawrence, Kansas and it is here that he set his first novel. "Not Without Laughter" tells the story of young Sandy Rogers as he grows from a boy to a young man and focuses on his "awakening...

A leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes was the first to use his poetry to reflect the real daily lives of average Black people. This collection celebrates Black pride and contains messages of hope and optimism from the 1920s. Langston Hughes is often referred to as the Poet Laureate of African-American experience. The writer featured themes of cultural heritage, racial discrimination, and optimism in his poetry. He used his work...

“The Mule-Bone”, written by renowned African American poet Langston Hughes, is a satirical play that engages the complexities of race relations and the significance of the cultural heritage of African Americans in the early 20th century. The play follows two friends, Dave and Bones, who enter into a heated debate about which one of them will be able to buy a mule at an auction.

Hear rare recordings from five of the most-respected African American poets reading their own works: Langston Hughes, The Negro Speaks of Rivers; Arna Bontemps, Nocturne At Bethesda; Countee Cullen, Heritage; Gwendolyn Brooks, The Vacant Lot; and Sonia Sanchez, Black Magic. Recording obtained and published by Rick Sheridan.

A brief profile of the African American poet Langston Hughes accompanies some of his better known poems for children.

"The ultimate book for both the dabbler and serious scholar. -- [Hughes] is sumptuous and sharp, playful and sparse, grounded in an earthy music -- This book is a glorious revelation." -- Boston Globe Spanning five decades and comprising 868 poems (nearly 300 of which have never before appeared in book form), this magnificent volume is the definitive sampling of a writer who has been called the poet laureate of African America--and perhaps our greatest...

"Dream Variation," one of Langston Hughes's most celebrated poems, about the dream of a world free of discrimination and racial prejudice, is now a picture book stunningly illustrated by Daniel Miyares ... An African-American boy faces the harsh reality of segregation and racial prejudice, but he dreams of a different life -- one full of freedom, hope, and wild possibility, where he can fling his arms wide in the face of the sun"--