Famous Playwrights

Langston Hughes Born James Mercer Langston Hughes on February 1, 1902 Parents? – James Hughes and Carrie Langston Where? – Joplin, Missouri – Primarily raised by his grandmother, Mary, who died while he was in his teens. – Lived with his mother in Cleveland, Ohio Died on May 22, 1967 of cancer

Langston Huges Inspirations? – Walt Whitman (author of Song of Myself) – Carl Sandburg (author of Chicago Poems)

Langston Hughes Education? – College: Columbia University in New York – College: Lincoln University in Pennsylvania First publication? – A book of poems called The Weary Blues (1926) – Also wrote a column for the newspaper: Chicago Defender.

Langston Hughes Leading voice of New York’s Harlem Renaissance “The Weary Blues” poem won first prize in Opportunity magazine before it was published with a book of poems under the same title. First novel: Not Without Laughter

Street Scene 1940s Broadway show Lyrics by Langston Hughes Music by Kurt Weill The success of the show helped Hughes buy his own house

Street Scene Setting: 1946, East Manhattan (New York City) Two plotlines – Romance between a woman, Rose, and her neighbor, Sam. – Anna, Rose’s mother, has an affair, and is found out by Rose’s father, Frank

Troubled Island 1949 Langston wrote the Libretto (small opera) which later inspired William Grant Still to write a full play. Setting: Haiti in 1791 About an emperor and his wife being overthrown by their people

More Interesting Facts about Langston Hughes After dropping out of Columbia, Hughes worked a few odd jobs including… working as a busboy in a Washington, D.C. hotel, where he met the biggest promoter of his writing: Vachel Lindsay. Working on a cargo ship that made passage between Africa and Spain.