| 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. |
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