Langston Hughes has always inspired me even when I don’t think
about it. Everyone always has their grade school experience with
black history. You read about Martin Luther King, Malcom X, Rosa
Parks and Langston Hughes. I’m not writing about Langston
because it’s easy but because I love and admire his writing. It
reminds me of my own and how he writes about issues that I
deeply care about. I didn’t realize it until now but he has
shaped my writing from when I was younger. It all started when
my grandmother gave me a book of short stories by Langston
Hughes. I love the way he puts words together and everything he
writes reads as a poem. The words flows together in order to
paint a vivid picture. “I am the darker brother”-I, Too, sing
America by Langston Hughes One short story that stayed with me
over the years was entitled “Gumption”. I was only a timid 13 yr
old and I had never heard of the word gumption but it sounded so
powerful to me. I read the story like I did many times without
knowing what the word rea