Langston Hughes was a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural explosion that took place in New York City during the 1920s. He is best known as the innovator of 'Jazz Poetry,' a style that incorporates the rhythms, improvisational feel, and repetitive structures of jazz and blues music into written verse. His first collection, 'The Weary Blues' (1926), was groundbreaking for its celebration of ordinary Black life and its use of colloquial language. Unlike many of his contemporaries who looked to European models, Hughes drew inspiration from the music he heard in the clubs of Harlem. His work was deeply political and focused on the struggle for racial equality, famously captured in poems like 'Harlem' (asking 'What happens to a dream deferred?'). Hughes served as a voice for the 'New Negro' movement, emphasizing pride in African American heritage.