Langston Hughes's First Night in Paris

The ultimate pursuit of this research has been to create interactive maps capable of displaying performances, venues, residences, and other geographical information vis-à-vis 1924 Parisian musical life. Here you can explore one of the maps we’ve produced; links to others are at the bottom of the page.

In his autobiography, The Big Sea, Hughes outlines his experience living in Paris in 1924.  He describes in detail his first day, which is sketched out below on the map, (with the lines indicating his path). This map gives us a sense of what was like to be a tourist in 1924 Paris; it’s interesting to see that Hughes visited many of the same tourist destinations as today’s tourists.

Langston Hughes in 1924 Paris

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