Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes is best known as a poet. He was prolific in a wide variety of writing styles, in addition to 15 books of poetry. He published a number of novels and short story collections, nonfiction books such as A Pictorial History of the Negro in America, plays, children's books, and more. He edited the literary magazine Common Ground, co-wrote the screenplay for Way Down South, and wrote two autobiographies. Hughes was given many awards and honors – a Guggenheim Fellowship that allowed him to travel to Spain and the Soviet Union, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the NAACP's Spingarn Medal for distinguished achievements by an African American. He was awarded honorary degrees by Lincoln University, Howard University, and Western Reserve University. After his death, the City College of New York began awarding an annual Langston Hughes Medal to an influential and engaging African-American writer.