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]]. |