On May 30, 1903, a child was born who would become one of the most celebrated voices of the Harlem Renaissance, yet whose origins remain shrouded in the kind of mystery that seems almost poetic in retrospect. Countee Cullen's exact birthplace has been disputed—some records suggest New York City, others Louisville, Kentucky, and still others Baltimore, Maryland. This uncertainty about his origins would prove oddly fit…
“Negro poetry, it seems to me, in the sense that we speak of Russian, French, or Chinese poetry, must emanate from some country other than this in some language other than our own.”
Neighbourhood:
African American Poets, American Poets, Harlem Renaissance, Political Poets, Social Justice Poets
Emotional landscape: Wonder, Spirituality, Tenderness
Arthur Shearly Cripps was born on 10 June 1869, the son of Charles Alfred Cripps, later the first Baron Parmoor, and Theresa Potter Cripps. He belonged, by birth and education, to the privileged English world that supplied many of the administrators, clergy, soldiers, and writers of the British Empire. Yet the course of his life led him into a searching and often lonely quarrel with that world. He became an Anglican…
Neighbourhood:
Devotional Poets, Hymn Writers, Social Justice Poets, Welsh Poets
Emotional landscape: Spirituality, Longing, Sorrow
