Countee Cullen (1903 – 1946) was an American poet, primarily known as one of the most celebrated figures of the Harlem Renaissance. His work is recognized for its formal versatility as well as its thoughtful examination of race in America. Cullen saw himself as a poet foremost, and was hesitant about being labeled or categorized because of his ethnicity. He expressed admiration for white poets like Robert Frost, John Keats, and Edna St. Vincent Millay. At the same time, much of his best-known writing grapples with the difficulties faced by Black Americans, evoking the pervasive, systemic racism of the early twentieth century. Cullen's contemporary James Weldon Johnson commented on this contradiction at the heart of his work, describing it as a struggle that played out in the text of his poetry: “Strangely, it is because Cullen revolts against ... racial limitations—technical and spiritual—that the best of his poetry is motivated by race. He is always seeking to free himself and his art from these bonds. He never entirely escapes, but from the very fret and chafe he brings forth poetry that contains the quintessence of race consciousness.”
Cullen was born on May 30, 1903. Due to the absence of medical records, his biographers have been unable to verify his definitive place of birth. Cullen himself alternately claimed to have been born in New York City and Louisville, Kentucky. At the age of nine, Cullen moved to Harlem and was raised by his paternal grandmother, Amanda Porter. Following Porter's death in 1917, Cullen was placed in the care of Frederick A. Cullen, a well-known Methodist minister. He attended Clinton DeWitt High School and excelled in multiple areas. He received a poetry prize, became his class vice president, edited the school newspaper, and was inducted into the honors society. Following these early successes, he was accepted by New York University and received his undergraduate education there. Subsequently, he pursued a masters degree in English at Harvard University. At the same time, his poetry quickly gained widespread recognition after being published in national magazines like Harper's and Poetry.
In 1925, the same year he entered Harvard, Cullen published his first collection of poems, Color. The release of this book resulted in Cullen's breakthrough to mainstream success. After being critically praised, the book went on to become a seminal text of the Harlem Renaissance. The poems deal with challenging subjects like racism while also elevating the moments of beauty and grace in the lives of Black individuals. The style of these poems echo Romantic poets like William Blake, reflecting a careful control of rhyme and meter. One of Cullen's most well-known works, "Heritage," appears in this volume and indicates many of its main themes. In the poem, a Black speaker wrestles with the idea of legacy and tries to place himself into a historical context. He wants to feel a deeper connection to his African roots, but knows that that link has been damaged by the generational trauma of slavery. He finds himself alienated from his own heritage, an outsider to his past and present circumstances. The book was recognized for its engagement with complex ideas and its integration of intricate forms.
Copper Sun, Cullen's second collection, published in 1927, shared many of the formal features of Color, but focused on a new subject: love. While the poems illustrate love in varying contexts, one of the primary threads of the book is interracial love. Cullen portrays love as a force of unity, something with the potential to heal historical wounds and join diverse individuals together. At the same time, a few of the poems explore the potential dangers of love, presenting moments in which it is a prelude to death and disaster. Cullen's third collection, The Black Christ and Other Poems, is centrally concerned with religion and its role in the Black community. In these poems, he examines Christianity and his Black characters' skepticism of its white roots. At the same time, as the title suggests, Cullen draws parallels between the suffering of Black people and Jesus Christ. The volume also depicts various hate crimes that occurred during the period.
By the 1930s, Cullen diverted his attention to other genres, ranging from children’s literature to verse translations. This essentially brought a halt to Cullen’s poetry output. Following the 1936 publication of The Medea and Some Poems, he shifted his focus to writing plays. On January 9, 1946, Cullen died from uremia and high blood pressure. Today, he is remembered as one of the most essential poets of the Harlem Renaissance and the canon of American literature.
