Face 2 Face Africa Remembers Langston Hughes

On the anniversary of his birthday (February 1) Face 2 Face Africa paid homage to Langston Hughes. In Nduta Waweru's words, Hughes is considered "one of America’s greatest poets and writers and the leader of the Harlem Renaissance." Picking up from there: 

Born James Mercer Langston Hughes on February 1, 1902, in Missouri, Hughes started writing when he was just 13 years old.  At the time, he was living in Lincoln, Illinois with his mother and her husband after his parents divorced.

Hughes published his first poem ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers’ in 1921 and in 1926, he published his first book, The Weary Blues, when he was just 24 years old. The book focuses on the African-American experience at the time during the rise of intellectual and cultural awareness in Harlem.

His style of poetry is referred to as Jazz Poetry, a genre that he had innovated. This genre featured the inclusion of syncopated rhythms and repetitive phrases of blues and jazz music. Jazz was a huge part of the Harlem Renaissance and a source of pride for African Americans.

Read on at Face 2 Face Africa.