what kind of author was langston hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 â May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri.He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form called jazz poetry.Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance.angston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri, the second child of school teacher Carrie (Caroline) Mercer Langston and James Nathaniel Hughes (1871â1934). Langston Hughes grew up in a series of Midwestern small towns.