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Countee Cullen (born @ 1903 – died January 9, 1946) was a poet and one of the most important figures of the [[Harlem Renaissance]]. Little is known of Cullen’s early life, as he was vague about his birthplace and parentage. As a teenager he was adopted by the pastor Reverend Dr. Frederick A. Cullen and his wife Carolyn, of the Salem Methodist Episcopal Church in [[Harlem]]. The Reverend Dr. Cullen was active in the [[NAACP]] throughout his life, and in that capacity knew both [[W.E.B. DuBois]] and [[James Weldon Johnson]], men who would serve as patriarchal figures of the Harlem Renaissance. In 1928, Cullen would marry DuBois’s only daughter, Yolande, but the marriage was a failure and would end in divorce within two years.

'''Countee Cullen''' (born @ 1903 – died January 9, 1946) was a poet and one of the most important figures of the [[Harlem Renaissance]]. Little is known of Cullen’s early life, as he was vague about his birthplace and parentage. As a teenager he was adopted by the pastor Reverend Dr. Frederick A. Cullen and his wife Carolyn, of the Salem Methodist Episcopal Church in [[Harlem]]. The Reverend Dr. Cullen was active in the [[NAACP]] throughout his life, and in that capacity knew both [[W.E.B. DuBois]] and [[James Weldon Johnson]], men who would serve as patriarchal figures of the Harlem Renaissance. In 1928, Cullen would marry DuBois’s only daughter, Yolande, but the marriage was a failure and would end in divorce within two years.

Cullen was something of a prodigy, successful at academics in every school he attended, including DeWitt Clinton High School and [[New York University]] and [[Harvard]], and with a precocious genius for poetry which was recognized at an early age. Throughout his career Cullen heavily favored classical verse forms, such as [[sonnet]]s, and perhaps in part because of this was the most successful [[crossover artist]] of the Harlem Renaissance poets. Arguably, this same factor may account for the decline in popularity of his work in the years since, compared to the less traditional style of [[Langston Hughes]].

Cullen was something of a prodigy, successful at academics in every school he attended, including DeWitt Clinton High School and [[New York University]] and [[Harvard]], and with a precocious genius for poetry which was recognized at an early age. Throughout his career Cullen heavily favored classical verse forms, such as [[sonnet]]s, and perhaps in part because of this was the most successful [[crossover artist]] of the Harlem Renaissance poets. Arguably, this same factor may account for the decline in popularity of his work in the years since, compared to the less traditional style of [[Langston Hughes]].

Cullen Countee, edited and with introduction by Gerald Early (1991) My Souls High Song: The Collected Writings of Countee Cullen, Anchor Books.

Cullen Countee, edited and with introduction by Gerald Early (1991) My Souls High Song: The Collected Writings of Countee Cullen, Anchor Books.