Among the most renowned writers of the renaissance is poet Langston Hughes, whose first work was published in "The Brownies' Book" in 1921. He first received attention in the 1922 publication "The Book of American Negro Poetry". Edited by James Weldon Johnson, this anthology featured the work of the period's most talented poets, including Claude McKay, who also published three novels, "Home to Harlem", "Banjo" and "Banana Bottom," a nonfiction book, "Harlem: Negro Metropolis" and a collection of short stories. In 1926, Hughes published a collection of poetry, "The Weary Blues", and in 1930 a novel, "Not Without Laughter". Perhaps his most famous poem is "The Negro Speaks of Rivers", which he wrote as a young teen. His single, most recognized character is Jesse B. Simple, a plainspoken, pragmatic Harlemite whose comedic observations appeared in Hughes's columns for the "Chicago Defender" and the "New York Post". "Simple Speaks His Mind" (1950) is perhaps the best-known collection of Simple stories published in book form. Until his death in 1967, Hughes published nine volumes of poetry, eight books of short stories, two novels and a number of plays, children's books and translations.