Includes bibliographical references (pages 118-125) and index.

The poetry of Langston Hughes pulses with the rhythms of jazz and blues, and the language of the streets. In describing the everyday lives of African Americans, he became the leading African-American poet of the world. Jodie A. Shull s insightful and highly readable new biography sheds light on one of the most important figures of the Harlem Renaissance and introduces another generation to his extraordinary outpouring of poetry, short stories, novels, plays, and other work.