LANGSTON HUGHES (1902 – 1967)

Langston Hughes, in full James Mercer Langston Hughes, (born February 1, 1902, Joplin, Missouri, U.S.died May 22, 1967, New York), American writer who was an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance and made the African American experience the subject of his writings, which ranged from poetry and plays to novels and newspaper columns.

Back in New York City from seafaring and sojourning in Europe, he met in 1924 the writers Arna Bontems and Carl Van Vechtem, with whom he would have lifelong influential friendships. Hughes won an opportinity magazine poetry prize in That same year, Van Vechten introduced Hughess poetry to the publisher Alfred Knopf, who accepted the collection that Knopf would publish as The Weary Blues in While working as a busboy in a hotel in Washington, D.C., in late 1925, Hughes put three of his own poems beside the plate of Vachel Lindsay in the dining room. The next day, newspapers around the country reported that Lindsay, among the most popular white poets of the day, had discovered an African American busboy poet, which earned Hughes broader notice. Back in New York City from seafaring and sojourning in Europe, he met in 1924 the writers Arna Bontems and Carl Van Vechtem, with whom he would have lifelong influential friendships. Hughes won an opportinity magazine poetry prize in That same year, Van Vechten introduced Hughess poetry to the publisher Alfred Knopf, who accepted the collection that Knopf would publish as The Weary Blues in While working as a busboy in a hotel in Washington, D.C., in late 1925, Hughes put three of his own poems beside the plate of Vachel Lindsay in the dining room. The next day, newspapers around the country reported that Lindsay, among the most popular white poets of the day, had discovered an African American busboy poet, which earned Hughes broader notice.

Alexander Saxton ( )

He studied at Hardvard. But after dropping out of Harvard, Saxton made the intentional transition from a privileged upbringing to the working class where he labored at various times as "a harvest hand, construction gang laborer, engine-wiper, freight brakeman, architectural apprentice, assistant to the assistant editor" of a union newspaper, railroad switchman and columnist for The Daily Worker. Saxton published his first novel, -Grand Crossing in 1943, when he was 24 years old. His next novel was his most acclaimed, - The Great Midland published in It examines the 1920s and 1930s labor movement through the lives of a man and a woman. His last novel, - Bright Web in the Darkness (1958), is about two women - one white, the other black - who meet in a factory during World War II. Saxton never returned to the novel, two years before his death he said "The novel claims only a brief span in human culture and may not continue to play a key role." He studied at Hardvard. But after dropping out of Harvard, Saxton made the intentional transition from a privileged upbringing to the working class where he labored at various times as "a harvest hand, construction gang laborer, engine-wiper, freight brakeman, architectural apprentice, assistant to the assistant editor" of a union newspaper, railroad switchman and columnist for The Daily Worker. Saxton published his first novel, -Grand Crossing in 1943, when he was 24 years old. His next novel was his most acclaimed, - The Great Midland published in It examines the 1920s and 1930s labor movement through the lives of a man and a woman. His last novel, - Bright Web in the Darkness (1958), is about two women - one white, the other black - who meet in a factory during World War II. Saxton never returned to the novel, two years before his death he said "The novel claims only a brief span in human culture and may not continue to play a key role."

R. L.Stevenson

H.G. Wells (1866 –1946)

H.G. Wells, in full Herbert George Wells, (born September 21, 1866, Bromley, Kent, England died August 13, 1946, London), English novelist, journalist, sociologist, and historian best known for such science fiction novels as The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds and such comic novels as Tono- Bungay and The History of Mr. Polly.

Wellss first published book was a Textbook of Biology (1893). With his first novel, The Time Machine (1895), which was immediately successful, he began a series of science fiction novels that revealed him as a writer of marked originality and an immense fecundity of ideas: The Wonderful Visit (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), The War of the Worlds(1898), The First Men in the Moon (1901), and The Food of the Gods (1904). He also wrote many short stories, which were collected in The Stolen Bacillus (1895), The Plattner Story (1897), and Tales of Space and Time (1899). For a time he acquired a reputation as a prophet of the future, and indeed, in The War in the Air (1908), he foresaw certain developments in the military use of aircraft. But his imagination flourished at its best not in the manner of the comparatively mechanical anticipations of Jules Verne but in the astronomical fantasies of The First Men in the Moon and The War of the Worlds. Wellss first published book was a Textbook of Biology (1893). With his first novel, The Time Machine (1895), which was immediately successful, he began a series of science fiction novels that revealed him as a writer of marked originality and an immense fecundity of ideas: The Wonderful Visit (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), The War of the Worlds(1898), The First Men in the Moon (1901), and The Food of the Gods (1904). He also wrote many short stories, which were collected in The Stolen Bacillus (1895), The Plattner Story (1897), and Tales of Space and Time (1899). For a time he acquired a reputation as a prophet of the future, and indeed, in The War in the Air (1908), he foresaw certain developments in the military use of aircraft. But his imagination flourished at its best not in the manner of the comparatively mechanical anticipations of Jules Verne but in the astronomical fantasies of The First Men in the Moon and The War of the Worlds.

Albert Maltz (1908 –1985)

Albert Maltz was born on October 28, 1908 in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from Columbia University in 1930, he attended the Yale School of Drama for two years as a tyro playwright. After striking out on his own as a dramatist, he developed sociopolitical plays which were destined to be produced by the left-wing theatrical companies the Theatre Union and the Group Theatre. He also wrote novels and short stories. In 1935, during the Great Depression, he joined the Communist Party. Albert Maltz was born on October 28, 1908 in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from Columbia University in 1930, he attended the Yale School of Drama for two years as a tyro playwright. After striking out on his own as a dramatist, he developed sociopolitical plays which were destined to be produced by the left-wing theatrical companies the Theatre Union and the Group Theatre. He also wrote novels and short stories. In 1935, during the Great Depression, he joined the Communist Party.

Maltz labored as a screenwriter for Warner Bros., which had made its reputation in the 1930s for its socially aware dramas. He worked on the classic Casablanca (1942) and other feature films and documentaries during World War II. He wrote the Oscar- winning documentary The House I Live In (1945), a plea for racial tolerance, and was nominated for an Oscar for writing Pride of the Marines (1945). Maltz wrote an article in 1945 for the "New Masses" that demanded more intellectual freedom from the Communist Party for its members. Pressure from the Party made him recant his position, which had a chilling effect on some other Party members and liberal supporters of the Party's right to exist.