“Fifty-two years after his death, the defiance and challenge that Langston Hughes evoked on the page during his long career still retain a sense of immediacy for contemporary audiences. In this book Miller offers valuable new insights into the life of Langston Hughes and compelling readings of selected stories and poems that will be indispensable to students, teachers, as well as new readers of Hughes’s prolific body of work.”

Christopher C. De Santis, Illinois State University, editor of "Langston Hughes: A Documentary Volume" and "Fight for Freedom and Other Writings on Civil Rights"

“Miller's biography links the works by Hughes to the many scholarly studies that have emerged in the past thirty years. His bibliography alone is a precious tool. Miller integrates his own examinations of primary sources, and he thereby provides a brilliant map for current and future research. Readers will gain a deeper appreciation for the complexity of Hughes's writing and his relationships—with individuals and with organizations. Indeed, Hughes was ‘Not So Simple.’”

Donna Akiba Sullivan Harper, Fuller E. Callaway Professor of English, Spelman College, and author of “Not So Simple: The ‘Simple’ Stories by Langston Hughes”

"Langston Hughes, one of the best-known writers of the Harlem Renaissance, remains an endlessly fascinating, charismatic figure. . . . This is a physically attractive book, with heavy, glossy pages and some rarely seen black-and-white images."

Gay and Lesbian Review