As the first black author in America to make his living exclusively by writing, Langston Hughes inspired a generation of writers and activists. One of the pioneers of jazz poetry, Hughes led the Harlem Renaissance, while Martin Luther King invoked his signature metaphor of dreaming in his speeches. In this new biography, W. Jason Miller illuminates Hughes's status as an international literary figure through a compelling look at the relationship between his extraordinary life and his canonical works. Drawing on unpublished letters and manuscripts, Miller addresses Hughes's often ignored contributions to the civil rights movement of the 1960s and his complex and well-guarded sexuality, and repositions him as a writer, rather than merely the most beloved African American poet of the twentieth century.

About the Author
W. Jason Miller is Professor of Literature at North Carolina State University. His books include Langston Hughes and American Lynching Culture (2011) and Origins of the Dream: Hughes's Poetry and King's Rhetoric (2015).


Book Information
ISBN 9781789141955
Author W. Jason Miller
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Reaktion Books
Publisher Reaktion Books