The Harlem Renaissance was a period lasting roughly from 1918 to the mid-1930's during which Harlem, a mostly African-American neighborhood in New York city, produced a large number of popular and influential poets, writers, musicians and artist. Langston Hughes was called the "Shakespeare of Harlem" because he was the most famous poet and writer of this group. "Shakespeare in Harlem" was the title of a collection of his poems and stories.