James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on Feb. 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. He one of the most well known poets and writers from the Harlem Renaissance era, as well as an early innovator of jazz poetry. Some of Hughes’s most common themes include depictions of Black life in America, racism, the American Dream, music, aspiration and self-actualization.
“Dreams”
Hold onto dreams
For if dreams die
Life is like a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.