Countee Cullen

Jane Kuenz (University of Southern Maine)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Tweet Report an Error

When he published his first collection of poetry in 1925 at the age of twenty-two, Countee Cullen was already the most famous Black writer in America, known for his elegant constructions and ironic wit in poems that expressed both the frustrations and aspirations of a rising class of educated African Americans. For many, Color confirmed the early promise signaled by a series of poetry prizes and publications just as they believed it prefigured Cullen’s further rise to prominence as a major poet in the movement to showcase African-American literature, art, and music now known as the Harlem Renaissance. At the height of this movement in the mid-1920s, Cullen’s celebrity as “the New Negro Poet Laureate” was unmatched, even …

3227 words

Citation: Kuenz, Jane. "Countee Cullen". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 August 2011 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1088, accessed 31 October 2024.]

1088 Countee Cullen 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.