Founded to support American poets and to cultivate the growth of contemporary poetry, the Academy of American Poets entry on Hughes is very comprehensive. Visit this site to obtain biographical information on the author, links to his contemporaries, as well as a selected bibliography of poetry and other works. You can hear Hughes read "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," and access 11 of his poems. A good starting resource for fans of the Harlem Renaissance author.

PAL: Perspectives in American Literature: A Research and Reference Guide: Langston Hughes
http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap9/hughes.html

Visit here to begin academic research on Hughes, as the site provides an excellent list of primary works, a large amount of critical bibliographical information, and a few study questions to help generate paper topics on Hughes.

Langston Hughes (1902-1967) Teacher Resource File
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/hughes.htm

This site, maintained by Inez Ramsey of James Madison University (through their Internet School Library Media Center), provides a wealth of links regarding the author. Here you'll gain access to an immense amount of biographical, bibliographical, and critical information about Hughes. Also, there are links to a large score of lesson plans and e-texts.

BIOGRAPHY
Langston Hughes (b.1902) was born in Joplin, Missouri to a family of abolitionists. Hughes's parents separated shortly after he was born. He was raised by his grandmother in Lawrence, Kansas until he was 12, when he moved to Lincoln, Illinois, to live with his mother and her husband. It was during his high school years that Hughes began writing poetry. After briefly studying engineering at Columbia University, Hughes spent several years working odd jobs and traveling abroad. He moved to Harlem, New York, in November 1924. His first book of poetry, The Weary Blues, was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1926. Hughes work is known for its engagement with the world of jazz, and he claims that his primary poetic influences were the blues bars of Harlem and Washington, D.C. Hughes made his career writing poetry, novels, plays, and essays that voiced his concerns about race and social justice. Hughes went on to receive both Guggenheim and Rosenwald fellowships and was nicknamed the "Poet Laureate of Harlem." Several years after his death of cancer in 1967, Hughes' residence in Harlem was given landmark status by the New York City Preservation Commission and in 1969, the Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center opened.