Meet David Kresh, Reference Specialist in Poetry, Humanities and Social Sciences Division, Library of Congress.

David Kresh discusses Langston Hughes and his poetry.

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Langston Hughes's Birthday. Today in History.

Contains an essay on Hughes's life, with links into American Memory collections.

Drafts of Langston Hughes's poem "Ballad of Booker T.," 30 May-1 June 1941. (Langston Hughes Collection). Words and Deeds in American History, American Memory.

Five typewritten drafts of the poem with handwritten revisions.

"The Negro Speaks of Rivers." Words by Langston Hughes and Margaret Bonds. African American Odyssey, American Memory.

First page of sheet music of Hughes's first poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers."

Portrait of Langston Hughes. America From the Great Depression to World War II, Photographs from the FSA/OWI, 1935-1945, American Memory.

Gordon Parks, photographer.

Portraits of Langston Hughes. Creative Americans: Portraits by Carl Van Vechten, 1932-1964, American Memory.

Photographs by Carl Van Vechten.

Library of Congress's Online Catalog.

To search the catalog for books written by Langston Hughes:
--> select: "Basic Search," then "Author/Creator Browse"
--> type in: "Hughes, Langston" (the required form for names in this field)
To search the catalog for materials about Langston Hughes:
--> select: "Basic Search," then "Subject"
--> type in "Hughes, Langston"

Harlem 1900-1940: An African-American Community.

Created specifically for educators and originally produced by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library. It is currently maintained by the Cultural Heritage Initiative for Community Outreach (CHICO) based at the University of Michigan School of Information.

Langston Hughes, (1902-1967): Modern American Poetry.

Described in the text of the web site as "...a living, breathing conversation between hundreds of poets, scholars, and readers, "Modern American Poetry" is an online journal--a compilation of scholarly essays and texts which provide a context for the work of selected modern poets. The site was created by Cary Nelson, the editor of Oxford University Press's Anthology of Modern American Poetry (2000).

Langston Hughes (1902-1967): Teacher Resource File.

A project of the Internet School Media Library Center. It provides links to a variety of online resources on Hughes, including bibliographies, biographies, and lesson plans.

PAL: Perspectives in American Literature - A Research and Reference Guide: Harlem Renaissance: A Brief Introduction.

Provides links to resources on some of the major themes and personalities of the Harlem Renaissance.

Poets of the Harlem Renaissance and After [The Academy of American Poets].

Focuses on the lives and works of some of the prominent poets of the Harlem Renaissance, including Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Claude McKay, and Countee Cullen. Each profile contains a brief biography, a bibliography, and links to related online resources as well as to the the full-text versions of selected poems.

Rhapsodies in Black: Art of the Harlem Renaissance.

Based on an exhibition organized by the Hayward Gallery in London, in collaboration with the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and the Institute of International Visual Arts (inIVA).

Print Sources

Bernard, Emily, ed. Remember Me to Harlem: The Letters of Langston Hughes and Carl Van Vechten, 1925-1964. New York: Knopf, 2001.
    LC call number: PS3515.U274 Z598 2001

Dace, Tish, ed. Langston Hughes: The Contemporary Reviews. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
    LC call number: PS3515.U274 Z6732 1997
    Dewey class number: 818/.5209 20

DeCarava, Roy, and Langston Hughes. The Sweet Flypaper of Life.1955; reprint, Washington: Howard University Press, 1984.
    LC call number: F128.9.N3 D4 1984
    Dewey class number: 974.7/100496073 19

Honey, Maureen, and Venetria K. Patton, eds. Double-take: A Revisionist Harlem Renaissance Anthology. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, c2001.
    LC call number: PS509.N4 D68 2001
    Dewey class number: 810.8/0896073/09041 21

Nichols, Charles H., ed. Arna Bontemps-Langston Hughes Letters, 1925-1967. New York: Paragon House, 1990, c1980.
    LC call number: PS3503.O474 Z486 1990
    Dewey class number: 818/.5209 B 20

Ostrom, Hans. A Langston Hughes Encyclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002.
    LC call number: PS3515.U274 Z459 2002
    Dewey class number: 818/.5209 B 21

Rampersad, Arnold, ed. The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes. New York: Vintage Books, 1995.
    LC call number: PS3515.U274 A17 1995
    Dewey class number: 811/.52 20

Rampersad, Arnold. The Life of Langston Hughes. 2 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
    LC call number: PS3515.U274 Z698 2002
    Dewey class number: 818/.5209 B 21

For Younger Readers

Bontemps, Arna, and Langston Hughes. Popo and Fifina. Illustrations by E. Simms Campbell. Introduction and afterword by Arnold Rampersad. New York: Oxford University Press, c1993.
    LC call number: PZ7.B6443 Po 1993

Hughes, Langston. The Block: Poems. Selected by Lowery S. Sims and Daisy Murray Voigt. Collage by Romare Bearden. Introduction by Bill Cosby. New York: Viking, 1995.
    LC call number PS3515.U274 B6 1995

------.The Dream Keeper and Other Poems. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. New York: Knopf, c1994.
    LC call number: PS3515.U274 D7 1994
    Dewey class number: 811/.52 20

Medina, Tony. Love to Langston. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. New York: Lee & Low Books, 2002.
    LC call number: PS3563.E2414 L68 2002

Perdomo, Willie. Visiting Langston. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2002.
    LC call number: PS3566.E691216 V5 2002
    Dewey class number: 811/.54 21

Sound Recordings

Hughes, Langston. The Weary Blues, and Other Poems. Langston Hughes reads with jazz accompaniment. M-G-M Records E 3697. [1958]. 33 1/3 rpm. microgroove.

Taj Mahal. Mule Bone. Music composed and performed by Taj Mahal. Lyrics by Langston Hughes. Gramavision [Distributed by Rhino Records, Inc., p1991], 1 sound disc (34 min.). Gramavision R2 79432.
    LC call number: SDA 00689

Weill, Kurt. Street Scene. Book by Elmer Rice. Lyrics by Langston Hughes. London, p1991. 2 sound discs. London 433 371-2.