Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. Hughes had a rough life growing up with his parents separating after his birth. Since his mom was constantly on the move, Hughes went to with live his grandmother. He didn’t let a little negatively in his life stop him from being one of the most famous poets of all time.
He was really interested in poetry when he was a teen and with Hughes life falling around him he turned to poetry which was a motivation for him …show more content…
In November 1924, while Hughes was working at a hotel restaurant he ran into American poet Vachel Lindsay who was impressed with his work and promoted his writings launching his career. There soon in 1925 Hughes poem “The Weary Blues” won first prize in the Opportunity magazine literary competitions. With Hugh’s gaining fame on his poem, it became a scholarship opportunity to attend Lincoln University. Furthermore, while attending Lincoln University with success at every corner, it seemed that Hugh’s was on his way to become one of the most significant poets in American history. Coincidentally, while studying at Lincoln University his works caught the eye of novelist and critic Carl Van Vechten. Who used his connections to get Hugh’s more popular and helps produce Hugh’s first book of poetry “The Weary Blues” which was published in 1926. After graduating Lincoln College in 1929 his first novel “Not Without Laughter” was published which boosted the career and the self-esteem of Hugh’s. This success led Hugh’s to believe he could make a living as a