Countee Cullen's poetry was extremely motivated by race. He produced poetry that celebrates his African American Heritage, dramatizes black heroism, and reveals the reality of being black in a hostile world. In "Harlem Wine," Cullen reveals how blacks overcome their pain and rebellious inclinations through the medium of music (Shields 907). James Weldon Johnson said that Cullen was always seeking to free himself and his art from these bonds (Shields 905). In "Yet Do I Marvel," Cullen raises questions about the motivation God might have had in making a poet black in bidding him sing in a world that is fundamentally racist and that does not readily accept the creative work of African Americans (Shackleford 1013). Poems such as "Heritage," "The Black Christ," The Shroud of Color," "The Litany of the Dark People," and "Pagan Prayer" are the product of a writer who cannot reconcile his blackness (Early 170-171).
Cullen also used a lot of lyricism in his poetry to express his emotions.......

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Title: Countee Cullen
Approximate Word Count: 1847
Approximate Pages: 8 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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