Essays in this volume about African American writer Langston Hughes include a biographical sketch and four essays that survey the critical reception of his work and explore the cultural and historical contexts and key themes in Hughes's works.

On Langston Hughes / --Biography of Langston Hughes / -- The critical reception of Langston Hughes, 1924-2012 / -- The "Diamond stair" within : black female inspiration in Hughes's poetry / -- History and historicity in the work of Langston Hughes / -- In the shadow of the blues : aesthetic discoveries by Ma Rainey, Langston Hughes, and Sterling A. Brown / -- Reassessing Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance : toward an African American aesthetic / -- The creative voice in the autobiographies of Langston Hughes / -- I'm lonely: I'll build me a family : functional family relationships in the life and art of Langston Hughes / -- Hughes and lynching / -- The blues I'm not playing? : Langston Hughes in the 1930s / -- Hughes's stories and the test of faith / -- Madam Alberta K. Johnson and the women of the "simple" tales / -- Without respect for gender : damnable inference in "blessed assurance" / -- Inspired by Hughes : Hughes's dramatic legacy in the twenty-first century / -- "Yo tambien soy America" : Latin American receptions of Langston Hughes's American dream / -- Langston Hughes, modernism, and modernity / John Lowney -- Resources : Chronology of Langston Hughes's Life ; Works by Langston Hughes ; Bibliography. On Langston Hughes -- Biography of Langston Hughes -- The critical reception of Langston Hughes, 1924-2012 -- The "Diamond stair" within : black female inspiration in Hughes's poetry -- History and historicity in the work of Langston Hughes -- In the shadow of the blues : aesthetic discoveries by Ma Rainey, Langston Hughes, and Sterling A. Brown -- Reassessing Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance : toward an African American aesthetic -- The creative voice in the autobiographies of Langston Hughes -- I'm lonely: I'll build me a family : functional family relationships in the life and art of Langston Hughes -- Hughes and lynching -- The blues I'm not playing? : Langston Hughes in the 1930s -- Hughes's stories and the test of faith -- Madam Alberta K. Johnson and the women of the "simple" tales - Without respect for gender : damnable inference in "blessed assurance" -- Inspired by Hughes : Hughes's dramatic legacy in the twenty-first century -- "Yo tambien soy America" : Latin American receptions of Langston Hughes's American dream -- Langston Hughes, modernism, and modernity -- Resources : Chronology of Langston Hughes's Life ; Works by Langston Hughes ; Bibliography.