Countee Cullen Summary

Countee Cullen Born May 30, 1903 Most sources say Louisville, Kentucky Died January 9, 1946 New York, New York American poet, novelist, and dramatist Countee Cullen. (The Bettmann Archive/Corbis-... Read more

Biography EssayCountee Cullen became a central figure in the Harlem or New Negro Renaissance and in American poetry in general with the publication of his first book, Color (1925), which black and wh... Read more

Born Countee Leroy Porter on 30 May 1903, Countee Cullen was orphaned while still a child and subsequently adopted, though the relationship was never made legal, by Frederick Asbury Cullen. While an a... Read more

If any single writer can be said to represent the New Negro Renaissance, that extraordinary flowering of Afro-American arts centered in Harlem in the 1920s, that writer is almost certainly Countee Cul... Read more

In the following review, Deutsch asserts that Color represents the voice of the African-American people and declares Cullen a poet with great potential. These lyrics [Color] by the youngest of the ... Read more

In the following excerpt, Reimherr argues that race is thematically central to Cullen's poetry. The theme of race consciousness is one of several themes that run through the poetry of Counte... Read more

In the following excerpt, Collier cites Cullen's "From the Dark Tower" as a poem that expresses "the spirit of the Harlem Renaissance." Literary historians and cr... Read more

In the following excerpt, Smith comments on Cullen's use of the sonnet as a vehicle for protest. To more than one commentator on the poetry of the Harlem Renaissance, the central paradox of ... Read more

In the following excerpt, Lomax alleges that Cullen's attitude toward race ultimately stunted his artistic development Color and Cullen did not entirely escape negative criticism … an... Read more

In the following assessment of Color, Locke proclaims Cullen a rare talent whose verse is firmly rooted in poetic tradition and in the African-American experience. Ladies and gentlemen! A genius! P... Read more

In the following excerpt, Kerlin maintains that Cullen's poems in Color contain particular insights and wisdom that are absent from the works of Caucasian poets. In 1923 a Negro student in N... Read more

In the following review of Copper Sun, Root contends that Cullen's poetry demonstrates a vitality that sets it apart from the predominantly intellectual and lifeless verse of the day. Modern... Read more

In the following review, James examines poetic style in The Black Christ, and Other Poems. [The Black Christ, and Other Poems] proves again that Countee Cullen is an accomplished poet, but it shows... Read more

Countee Cullen, an American poet and a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance was born Countee LeRoy Porter. This 1920s artistic movement produced the first large body of work in the United States ... Read more