Authors: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

79 Inspiring Quotes By Langston Hughes To Live By

Famous As: One of the Earliest Innovators of the Literary Art Form Called Jazz Poetry
Born On: February 1, 1901
Died On: May 22, 1967
Born In: Joplin, Missouri, United States
Died At Age: 66
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American social activist, playwright, novelist, poet and essayist. He was associated with the Harlem Renaissance movement that swept across New York City during the 1920s. Hughes was also one of the pioneers of a form of poetry that came to be known as jazz poetry and is regarded as one of its earliest exponents. He had been a poet right from his childhood and his first work titled ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers’ was published in the influential ‘The Crisis magazine’. That poem became one of his most famous works and was published in several other magazines over the years. Hughes produced a vast amount of work throughout his career including poetry collections like ‘The Weary Blues’, ‘Let America be America Again’, short story collections like ‘The Way of White Folks’ and novels like ‘Not Without Laughter’ among many other works. He was truly an icon of the African-American population of New York City at the time, who provided a whole new perspective to social activism through his literary works. We bring to you a treasure trove of quotes that have been excerpted from his novels, books, poems and writings. Read on to explore a compilation of some of the best known quotes by Langston Hughes, covering various aspects of life. The quotes would surely leave a lasting impression on your mind and keep you inspired.
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Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird,
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird, That cannot fly.

Langston Hughes
Life is for the living.
Death is for the dead.
Let life be like music. 
And death a note unsaid.

Life is for the living. Death is for the dead. Let life be like music. And death a note unsaid.

Langston Hughes
Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.

Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.

Langston Hughes
I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.

I went down to the river, I set down on the bank. I tried to think but couldn't, So I jumped in and sank.

Langston Hughes
Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.

I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.

Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love. I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.

Langston Hughes
I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.

I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.

Langston Hughes
Looks like what drives me crazy
Don't have no effect on you--
But I'm gonna keep on at it
Till it drives you crazy, too.

Looks like what drives me crazy Don't have no effect on you-- But I'm gonna keep on at it Till it drives you crazy, too.

Langston Hughes
I loved my friend
He went away from me
There's nothing more to say
The poem ends,
Soft as it began-
I loved my friend.

I loved my friend He went away from me There's nothing more to say The poem ends, Soft as it began- I loved my friend.

Langston Hughes
I stay cool, and dig all jive,
That's the way I stay alive.
My motto, 
as I live and learn, 
is
Dig and be dug
In return.

I stay cool, and dig all jive, That's the way I stay alive. My motto, as I live and learn, is Dig and be dug In return.

Langston Hughes
Folks, I'm telling you,
birthing is hard
and dying is mean-
so get yourself 
a little loving 
in between.

Folks, I'm telling you, birthing is hard and dying is mean- so get yourself a little loving in between.

Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
for if dreams die
life is a broken-winged bird
that can not fly.

Hold fast to dreams
for when dreams go
life is a barren field
frozen with snow.

Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die life is a broken-winged bird that can not fly. Hold fast to dreams for when dreams go life is a barren field frozen with snow.

Langston Hughes
Oh, God of Dust and Rainbows,
Help us to see
That without the dust the rainbow
Would not be.

Oh, God of Dust and Rainbows, Help us to see That without the dust the rainbow Would not be.

Langston Hughes
Though you may hear me holler,
And you may see me cry--
I'll be dogged, sweet baby,
If you gonna see me die.

Though you may hear me holler, And you may see me cry-- I'll be dogged, sweet baby, If you gonna see me die.

Langston Hughes
So since I'm still here livin',
I guess I will live on.
I could've died for love--
But for livin' I was born.

So since I'm still here livin', I guess I will live on. I could've died for love-- But for livin' I was born.

Langston Hughes
Humor is laughing at what you haven't got when you ought to have it.

Humor is laughing at what you haven't got when you ought to have it.

Langston Hughes
I've known rivers:
I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Langston Hughes
To some people
Love is given,
To others
Only Heaven.

To some people Love is given, To others Only Heaven.

Langston Hughes
I swear to the Lord,I still can't see,Why Democracy means,Everybody but me.

I swear to the Lord,I still can't see,Why Democracy means,Everybody but me.

Langston Hughes
Gather out of star-dust,
Earth-dust,
Cloud-dust,
Storm-dust,
And splinters of hail,
One handful of dream-dust,
Not for sale.

Gather out of star-dust, Earth-dust, Cloud-dust, Storm-dust, And splinters of hail, One handful of dream-dust, Not for sale.

Langston Hughes
I asked you, baby,
If you understood-
You told me that you didn't,
But you thought you would.

I asked you, baby, If you understood- You told me that you didn't, But you thought you would.

Langston Hughes
Out of love,
No regrets--
Though the goodness
Be wasted forever.

Out of love,
No regrets--
Though the return
Be never.

Out of love, No regrets-- Though the goodness Be wasted forever. Out of love, No regrets-- Though the return Be never.

Langston Hughes
...the only way to get a thing done is to start to do it, then keep on doing it, and finally you'll finish it,....

...the only way to get a thing done is to start to do it, then keep on doing it, and finally you'll finish it,....

Langston Hughes
Yet the ivory gods, And the ebony gods, And the gods of diamond-jade, Are only silly puppet gods That people themselves Have made.-

Yet the ivory gods, And the ebony gods, And the gods of diamond-jade, Are only silly puppet gods That people themselves Have made.-

Langston Hughes
An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose

An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose

Langston Hughes
Good morning, Revolution: You're the very best friend I ever had. We gonna pal around together from now on

Good morning, Revolution: You're the very best friend I ever had. We gonna pal around together from now on

Langston Hughes
The calm, Cool face of the river, Asked me for a kiss

The calm, Cool face of the river, Asked me for a kiss

Langston Hughes
Believing everything she read
In the daily news,
(No in-between to choose)
She thought that only
One side won,
Not that BOTH
Might lose.

Believing everything she read In the daily news, (No in-between to choose) She thought that only One side won, Not that BOTH Might lose.

Langston Hughes
Cheap little rhymes
A cheap little tune
Are sometimes as dangerous
As a sliver of the moon.

Cheap little rhymes A cheap little tune Are sometimes as dangerous As a sliver of the moon.

Langston Hughes
When peoples care for you and cry for you, they can straighten out your soul.

When peoples care for you and cry for you, they can straighten out your soul.

Langston Hughes
I tire so of hearing people say,
Let things take their course.
Tomorrow is another day.
I do not need my freedom when I'm dead.
I cannot live on tomorrow's bread.

I tire so of hearing people say, Let things take their course. Tomorrow is another day. I do not need my freedom when I'm dead. I cannot live on tomorrow's bread.

Langston Hughes
When a man starts out to build a world,
He starts first with himself

When a man starts out to build a world, He starts first with himself

Langston Hughes
How still,
How strangely still
The water is today,
It is not good
For water
To be so still that way.

~

How still, How strangely still The water is today, It is not good For water To be so still that way. ~ "Sea Calm

Langston Hughes
Life is a egg you have to be patient and carefull with it or it will brake

Life is a egg you have to be patient and carefull with it or it will brake

Langston Hughes
LIBERTY!
 FREEDOM!
 DEMOCRACY!
True anyhow no matter how many
Liars use those words.

LIBERTY! FREEDOM! DEMOCRACY! True anyhow no matter how many Liars use those words.

Langston Hughes
Sometimes a crumb falls
From the tables of joy, 
Sometimes a bone
Is flung.

To some people
Love is given, 
To others
Only heaven.

Sometimes a crumb falls From the tables of joy, Sometimes a bone Is flung. To some people Love is given, To others Only heaven.

Langston Hughes
I wish the rent Was heaven sent.

I wish the rent Was heaven sent.

Langston Hughes
Gather up In the arms of your love—Those who expect No love from above.

Gather up In the arms of your love—Those who expect No love from above.

Langston Hughes
Most musicians remain poor. But the music that they make, even if it does not bring them millions, gives millions of people happiness.

Most musicians remain poor. But the music that they make, even if it does not bring them millions, gives millions of people happiness.

Langston Hughes
7 x 7 + love = An amount Infinitely above: 7 x 7 - love.

7 x 7 + love = An amount Infinitely above: 7 x 7 - love.

Langston Hughes
The Dream Keeper

Bring me all of your dreams,
You dreamer,
Bring me all your
Heart melodies
That I may wrap them
In a blue cloud-cloth
Away from the too-rough fingers
Of the world.

The Dream Keeper Bring me all of your dreams, You dreamer, Bring me all your Heart melodies That I may wrap them In a blue cloud-cloth Away from the too-rough fingers Of the world.

Langston Hughes
Rest at pale evening...
A tall slim tree...
Night coming tenderly
Black like me

Rest at pale evening... A tall slim tree... Night coming tenderly Black like me

Langston Hughes
The past has been a mint Of blood and sorrow. That must not be True of tomorrow.

The past has been a mint Of blood and sorrow. That must not be True of tomorrow.

Langston Hughes
What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?

What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?

Langston Hughes
Pleasured equally
In seeking as in finding,
Each detail minding,
Old Walt went seeking
And finding.

Pleasured equally In seeking as in finding, Each detail minding, Old Walt went seeking And finding.

Langston Hughes
I stuck my head out the window this morning and spring kissed me bang in the face.

I stuck my head out the window this morning and spring kissed me bang in the face.

Langston Hughes
I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.

I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.

Langston Hughes
There is no color line in death.

There is no color line in death.

Langston Hughes
Frosting

Freedom
Is just frosting
On somebody else's
Cake--
And so must be
Till we
Learn how to
Bake.

Frosting Freedom Is just frosting On somebody else's Cake-- And so must be Till we Learn how to Bake.

Langston Hughes
Peace

We passed their graves:
The dead men there,
Winners or losers,
Did not care.

In the dark
They could not see
Who had gained
The victory.

Peace We passed their graves: The dead men there, Winners or losers, Did not care. In the dark They could not see Who had gained The victory.

Langston Hughes
Your explanation depresses me,

Your explanation depresses me," I said. "Your nonsense depresses me," said Simple.

Langston Hughes
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe.

Langston Hughes
Life dosent frighten me at all.

Life dosent frighten me at all.

Langston Hughes
Negroes
Sweet and docile, 
Meek, humble, and kind: 
Beware the day
They change their minds!

Wind
In the cotton fields,
Gentle breeze:
Beware the hour
It uproots trees!

Negroes Sweet and docile, Meek, humble, and kind: Beware the day They change their minds! Wind In the cotton fields, Gentle breeze: Beware the hour It uproots trees!

Langston Hughes
I am so tired of waiting.
Aren’t you,
for the world to become good
and beautiful and kind?
Let us take a knife
and cut the world in two —
and see what worms are eating
at the rind.

I am so tired of waiting. Aren’t you, for the world to become good and beautiful and kind? Let us take a knife and cut the world in two — and see what worms are eating at the rind.

Langston Hughes
What happens to a dream deferred?

What happens to a dream deferred?

Langston Hughes
Go home and write / a page tonight. / And let that page come out of you - / Then, it will be true.

Go home and write / a page tonight. / And let that page come out of you - / Then, it will be true.

Langston Hughes
Justice

That Justice is a blind goddess
Is a thing to which we black are wise:
Her bandage hides two festering sores
That once perhaps were eyes.

Justice That Justice is a blind goddess Is a thing to which we black are wise: Her bandage hides two festering sores That once perhaps were eyes.

Langston Hughes
They rung my bell to ask me.
Could I recommend a maid.
I said, yes, your momma.

They rung my bell to ask me. Could I recommend a maid. I said, yes, your momma.

Langston Hughes
Oppression

Now dreams
Are not available
To the dreamers,
Nor songs
To the singers.

In some lands
Dark night
And cold steel
Prevail--
But the dream
Will come back,
And the song
Break
Its jail.

Oppression Now dreams Are not available To the dreamers, Nor songs To the singers. In some lands Dark night And cold steel Prevail-- But the dream Will come back, And the song Break Its jail.

Langston Hughes
American Heartbreak

I am the American heartbreak--
The rock on which Freedom
Stumped its toe--
The great mistake
That Jamestown made
Long ago.

American Heartbreak I am the American heartbreak-- The rock on which Freedom Stumped its toe-- The great mistake That Jamestown made Long ago.

Langston Hughes
I look at my own body
With eyes no longer blind—
And I see that my own hands can make
The world that’s in my mind.
Then let us hurry, comrades,
The road to find.

I look at my own body With eyes no longer blind— And I see that my own hands can make The world that’s in my mind. Then let us hurry, comrades, The road to find.

Langston Hughes
Books -where if people suffered, they suffered in beautiful language, not in monosyllables, as we did in Kansas

Books -where if people suffered, they suffered in beautiful language, not in monosyllables, as we did in Kansas

Langston Hughes
Impasse

I could tell you
If I wanted to,
What makes me
What I am.

But I don't
Really want to –
And you don't
Give a damn.

Impasse I could tell you If I wanted to, What makes me What I am. But I don't Really want to – And you don't Give a damn.

Langston Hughes
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Langston Hughes
I will not take ‘but’ for an answer.

I will not take ‘but’ for an answer.

Langston Hughes
Well, son, I'll tell you: Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

Well, son, I'll tell you: Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

Langston Hughes
You see, books had been happening to me.

You see, books had been happening to me.

Langston Hughes
Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you.

Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you.

Langston Hughes
Color

Wear it 
Like a banner
For the proud--
Not like a shroud.
Wear it
Like a song
Soaring high--
Not moan or cry.

Color Wear it Like a banner For the proud-- Not like a shroud. Wear it Like a song Soaring high-- Not moan or cry.

Langston Hughes
God in his infinite wisdom
Did not make me very wise-
So when my actions are stupid
They hardly take God by surprise.

God in his infinite wisdom Did not make me very wise- So when my actions are stupid They hardly take God by surprise.

Langston Hughes
As I learn from you,
I guess you learn
From me --- although 
You're older --- and white
And somewhat more free.

As I learn from you, I guess you learn From me --- although You're older --- and white And somewhat more free.

Langston Hughes
For poems are like rainbows; they escape you quickly.

For poems are like rainbows; they escape you quickly.

Langston Hughes
Because shoes got by devilish ways will burn your feet.

Because shoes got by devilish ways will burn your feet.

Langston Hughes
The sea is a desert of waves,
A wilderness of water.

The sea is a desert of waves, A wilderness of water.

Langston Hughes
Freedom
Is a strong seed
Planted
In a great need.
I live here, too.
I want freedom
Just as you.

Freedom Is a strong seed Planted In a great need. I live here, too. I want freedom Just as you.

Langston Hughes
2 and 2 are 4. 
4 and 4 are 8.

But what would happen
If the last 4 was late?

And how would it be
If one 2 was me?

Or if the first 4 was you
Divided by 2?

2 and 2 are 4. 4 and 4 are 8. But what would happen If the last 4 was late? And how would it be If one 2 was me? Or if the first 4 was you Divided by 2?

Langston Hughes
As much as they loved Negroes, Neroes didn't seem to love Michael and Anne.

As much as they loved Negroes, Neroes didn't seem to love Michael and Anne.

Langston Hughes
Of course Covarrubias wasn't a negro, but how he caught the darky spirit!

Of course Covarrubias wasn't a negro, but how he caught the darky spirit!

Langston Hughes
Quiet Girl

I would liken you
To a night without stars
Were it not for your eyes. 
I would liken you 
To a sleep without dreams 
Were it not for your songs.

Quiet Girl I would liken you To a night without stars Were it not for your eyes. I would liken you To a sleep without dreams Were it not for your songs.

Langston Hughes