Cullen’s Worth -Week 7 Post

I greatly admire Countee Cullen. He was a phenomenal writer, highly intelligent, and an openly gay black man in a time where that was almost unheard of. The reason I chose Cullen for this week’s post was because I loved the quote I heard in class and I found it in Countee Cullen: A Renaissance Poet by Jasmin Williams, an article that celebrates his life and some of his work.

In this article, William quotes Cullen from the Brooklyn Eagle where he says, ” If I am going to be a poet at all, I am going to be POET and not NEGRO POET. This is what has hindered the development of artists among us. Their one note has been the concern with their race.” (Williams). I could not agree more with this statement. While many black writers from the early 1900s, such as Langston Hughes, took rightful pride in their work, I feel like they were not seeing themselves as a whole with the rest of America. And because black writers were separated from other (predominately white) writers, it was that much more significant to be labeled a black poet. But this bold statement that Cullen said about not wanting to be labeled as a black poet is not showing disrespect towards his race, but rather, enveloping it into the world of writing as a whole. I love it because Cullen is saying this talent has no color and no boundaries. That we are one, essentially, and when you read his work, you’re seeing the pure talent on paper and nothing more (at least nothing in a derogatory sense), and other black writers should see themselves that way as well.

Cullen continues with, ” But what I mean is this: I shall not write of negro subjects for the purpose of propaganda. That is not what a poet is concerned with. ” (Williams). I love the use of the word “propaganda” in this quote. It clearly shows that Cullen is well aware of the influence his writing has on different audiences, be it whatever race they are and how they perceive it. He would have a responsibility to uphold if he is always labeled a black poet, as if he represents all of Black America. Even though we know this clearly isn’t the case. No one man can represent all of his race, but can only add to that of the entirety of the human race. Which is the point I feel like Cullen is trying to make. That he is his own self. He is a poet, not wanting to be defined solely by his race, but by his incredible talent. But in America today, do we still use race as a way of describing artists, writers, and entertainers? And if we are initially “blinded” by that racial profile, how does that influence the way we see them?

Works Cited

Williams, Jasmin K. “Countee Cullen: A Renaissance Poet.” New York Amsterdam News, Apr, 2012, pp. 28. ProQuest, https://login.proxy055.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1010939571?accountid=10616.