Ransom Center Magazine

Harlem Renaissance

Claude McKay and “The White House”

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This February saw the release of a previously unpublished Claude McKay novel, Amiable with Big Teeth (Penguin Classics). [Read more…] about Claude McKay and “The White House”

Caroling Dusk, An Anthology of Verse by Negro Poets

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This is the last of a three-part series of posts highlighting the influence and work of Countée Cullen, a poet and editor during the Harlem Renaissance.

 

Cullen used the special issue of Palms as a springboard for a book-length anthology. Caroling Dusk, An Anthology of Verse by Negro Poets, was published by Harper & Brothers in 1927 and featured decorations by artist Aaron Douglas. [Read more…] about Caroling Dusk, An Anthology of Verse by Negro Poets

Countée Cullen and “The Negro Number” of Palms

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This is the second of a three-part series of posts highlighting the influence and work of Countée Cullen, a poet and editor during the Harlem Renaissance.

 

In the mid-1920s anthologies of African American writing found a receptive audience in the United States and abroad. The poetry magazine Palms embraced the trend and invited Countée Cullen to serve as guest editor of its “Negro Poets’ Number.” [Read more…] about Countée Cullen and “The Negro Number” of Palms

“Countée Cullen. Twenty-two. Watch him.”

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Countée Cullen was one of the first poets to establish a national reputation in the midst of the Harlem, or New Negro, Renaissance. Critics recognized Cullen’s first book of poetry, Color (1925), as a significant literary achievement. [Read more…] about “Countée Cullen. Twenty-two. Watch him.”