Langston Hughes 
Not Without Laughter — Unabridged [EPUB ebook] 

Langston Hughes (1901-1967) was an American poet, novelist, playwright, social activist and columnist. He was a leader of the social and cultural phenomenon known as the Harlem Renaissance and was one of the leading lights of the African-American literary world of the early to late 20th century. Hughes moved often as a child, living in a series of Midwestern towns in Missouri, Kansas, Ohio and Illinois. His parents divorced when Langston was very young and he had a strained relationship with his father, who did not approve of his ambitions to become a writer. Hughes briefly attended Columbia University and then, after dropping out, became a crewman on a ship bound for Europe, where he traveled for six months.Moving to Harlem, Hughes began delving into the struggles of working class black Americans. His works explored themes of class, racial tension, stereotyping and other African-American issues. He swiftly became prominent in the community and was a founder of what became known as the Harlem Renaissance. His first novel, ‘Not Without Laughter’ was published in 1930 and won him a Harmon Gold Medal for literature. The following hear, he and Prentiss Taylor established the Golden Stair Press, publishing their own works as well as that of other black writers. This was followed in 1934 with the publication of a collection of Hughes’ short works ‘The Ways of White People.’ Moving to Chicago, Hughes founded the theatre troupe The Skyloft Players and began writing a column for the Chicago Defender, which he continued to do for the next twenty years. Over the years, a number of younger black writers — James Baldwin among them — began to see Hughes’ views, particularly his unapologetic expressions of ‘black pride’ as outdated. Hughes himself understood the viewpoints of the Black Power movement, but considered its adherents to be too angry and hostile towards whites. Diagnosed with prostate cancer, he underwent treatment in New York but died following abdominal surgery in May of 1967. His ashes are interred beneath a floor medallion in the foyer of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem.