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 English 253
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Claude McKay 
Claude McKay (1889-1948) was one of the first critically-acclaimed poets of the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Jamaica, McKay experienced racial prejudice after arriving in America. To express his anger at the injustices found in America, he wrote such poems as "If We Must Die" and "America" in the form of sonnets. His first novel, Home to Harlem, which revealed the world of sin and vice in the lowlife of Harlem, was the first novel by an African American to a become a bestseller.


Zora Neal Hurston
Zora Neal Hurston (1891-1960) was a short story writer, essayist, novelist, and autobiographer. Her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and her short fiction portray working-class African American women of the rural South. Hurston's fiction also conveys her desire to promote black folk culture, particularly through the use of folk expressions.


Jean Toomer
Jean Toomer (1894-1967) was a poet, short story writer, and dramatist. His most famous work, Cane, combines fiction and poetry. Cane is divided into three parts; the setting for Part I is the rural South, Part II is the urban North, and Part III is rural South. Each section examines the impact of geographical regions on the identity and growth of an individual. Part I contains portraits of women who are perceived by men only by their physical appearance.


Arna Bontemps
Arna Bontemps (1902-1973) was a novelist, short story writer and poet. His most famous short story, A summer Tragedy, reveals the hardships of tenant farming in the South. 


Countee Cullen
Countee Cullen (1903-1946) was a renown poet of the Harlem Renaissance. His first volume of poetry, Color, examines the issue of race in America. It also examines racial heritage, portraying Africa and its relevance to African Americans. He desired to use conventional poetic forms rather than write in dialect or imitate jazz and blues forms.


Langston Hughes 
Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was a major writer of the Harlem Renaissance - a poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, autobiographer, essayist, critic, and writer of children's books . Many of his poems capture the rhythms of blues and jazz; his "The Weary Blues" was the first poem written in the form of the blues. His poetry often portrays the life of the common folk because he wanted to reveal all facets of African American life. Hughes also wrote about the economic and social conditions of African Americans, revealing his bitterness.