. It was in Lincoln thatHughes wrote his first poem after being elected class poet by his fellow classmates.Hughes, the only black at his school, said that the only reason that he was elected was thathis peers felt that he must have a good sense of rhythm because of the color of his skin.This position of class poet sparked Hughes’ love for poetry and was the start of his life asa poet. Hughes soon began to write poetry quite frequently and he kept it all in a journalsecret from other people. Langston Hughes is most famous for his poetry yet he also had anumber of different careers throughout his lifetime. He was an author, poet, playwright,song lyricist, and lecturer starting in 1921. In the years of 1920-1921 he was an Englishteacher in Mexico. In the years of 1949-1950 Hughes can be credited with foundingcommunity theatres in major cities across the United States such as Harlem, Los Angeles,and Chicago. In following, what is the American Dream? When asked, this questionwould receive a variety of responses, yet the main response would probably be freedom. One distinctive mark of the great writing of the Harlem Renaissance includes thedevelopment of a creative voice that both explains Black history and pain and transformsthis explanation into “High” art, despite its association with “Low” people. Some writers,such as Langston Hughes, attempt this transformation by seeking to elevate the sense ofcrudeness associated with blackness. In many ways, Hughes sets the standard for thisdistinctive mark: his writing consistently exhibits a voice that embraces theAfrican-American experience through art in an act of glorification rather than shame.Throughout much of his poetry, Hughes uses an intelligent, perceptive grasp of languageto elucidate the plight of the African-American and the shortcomings of anti-Blacksociety. In addition, Hughes embraces human pain -- specifically Negro pain -- as ameans of healing. In doi...
