Biography: Langston Hughes Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. He was named after his father, James Hughes, but was known called Langston. He was the only child from his parents James and Carrie Hughes. His parents were not married for long because of an unhappy marriage. When they separated, Langston was left with his mother, who left him behind to move from city to city to find work. Langston ended up living with his 70 year-old grandmother in Lawrence, Kansas. He lived with her until he was 13, and then he moved back with his mother in Lincoln, Kansas after his grandmother died in 1915.Langston, his mother, and his new stepfather lived in Lincoln for a year, until his stepfather found work and then they all moved to Ohio, where Langston went to high school. Langston went to a high school called Central High. After 2 years, Langstons mother and stepfather moved to Chicago, but Hughes stayed in Cleveland to Graduate from high school.Langston was very devoted in high school. His first piece of verse was published in Central High Monthly, which was a very prominent school magazine, which he later became staff of and published his work monthly. One of Langstons English teachers introduced him to writers such as Carl Sandburg, and Walt Whitman, which became Langstons earliest influences.In the summer after 11th grade, Langstons father reentered his life. He was living in Toluca, Mexico. Hughes went to visit his father that summer but they did not get along. This conflict helped to contribute to Langstons maturity. When Langston returned to school for his senior year, his writing matured. In that year, he began writing poetry of distinction.After Langston graduated, he planned to return to Mexico, and to try to convince his father to pay for his college at Columbia University in New York City. On the way to Mexico, on a train, Langston thought about his past and his future and wrote The Negro...
