There are many great African-American poets and storytellers who have had a great influence in today's society. James Mercer Langston Hughes, better known as Langston Hughes, was first recognized as an important literary figure in the 1920s, a period also known as the Harlem Renaissance. He has won numerous awards for his writings that have touched the hearts of his various audiences. Through his writings he was able to change the way we as a people see the world and our fellow humans. Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri to Caroline Mercer Langston and James Nathaniel Hughes. At an early age, Hughes' parents had divorced and each had gone their own way, leaving the young Hughes to be raised by his grandmother, Mary Patterson Langston, in Lawrence, Kansas, until the age of thirteen. At this age she moved to Cleveland, Ohio to live with her mother and her new husband. As time passed, Hughes attended Columbia University in New York for a year, and then traveled to places such as Africa and Europe as a sailor for work. His beginnings as a poet, however, had begun when he began attending Lincoln University. In the year 1942, Hughes had moved with some relatives to the elite section of Washington's capital LeDroit Park. After many “odd” jobs, Hughes began working for Dr. Carter G. Woodson at his black publishing house Superb. However, after a short time, Hughes left because, although the pay and what he was doing were a great asset to the company and others, he simply wasn't happy working there. In the fourteen months that Hughes had lived in Washington he had written more poetry than he had ever done before. Some of the poems he had written were “Ce......middle of paper......-Americans and People of African Descent Around the World. His writing inspired people to follow their dreams before they were forgotten no matter how ridiculous others thought they might be. Even though he is dead, his writings will live on and be expressed in many other ways. Works Cited"." Poet.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. May 14, 2014..Cohen, Samuel S.. “Salvation.” 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2007. . Print.Hughes, Langston and Donna Sullivan Harper. Short stories. New York: Hill and Wang, 1996. Print. Rampersad, Arnold. The Life of Langston Hughes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986-1988. Print."Langston Hughes." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 5 July 2014. Web. 14 May 2014..