Countee Cullen Biography

Countee Cullen was a wonderful poet, children’s book writer and teacher. He was born March 30 1903. New York City and Baltimore seem to be his two main disputed places of birth, but his true birthplace it still unknown. After claiming Louisville Kentucky as his birthplace for a New York University application, he later claimed New York City to be his hometown.

Cullen was enrolled in Public School Number 27 in the Bronx, New York in 1916. He went by the name Countee L. Porter, and was living with Amanda Porter, his assumed grandmother. She died in October 1917.

Around 1918 Countee Cullen was adopted by the Reverend Fredrick A. and Carolynn (Mitchell) Cullen. His exact age and how long hew knew the Cullens before his adoption took place, are unknown as well.

In 1921 he removed his middle initial and went from Countee P. Cullen to Countee Cullen. It was believed that Cullen’s adoption was never consummated through proper state-agency channels. In other words, it was not an official adoption.

Countee Cullen attended Dewitt Clinton High School from 1918-1921. He was in numerous school activities related to writing. These activities included editing for the school newspaper and helping edit the library’s magazine, Magpie. He also served as Vice President his senior year and was the editor of the Clinton News. After that he began writing poetry and achieved his notice.

A poem inspired by Alan Seeger, I have a Rendezvous with Life, was his first writing competition in high school, which he won. After graduation, he moved on to New York University from 1921-1925. This is where most of his poems were written that are included in his three volumes, Color, released in 1925, Copper Sun, and The Ballad of a Brown Girl, both released in 1927. Before Cullen, only two other black American poets could be taken seriously as proficient poets, Phillis Wheaty and Paul Lawrence Dunbar.

Countee Cullen was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from New York University and earned a masters degree in English and French in 1925-1927 from Harvard University. He won first place in the Witter Bynner poetry contest in 1925.

Following his schooling, Cullen won many awards. Among those awards were Poetry Magazine John Reed Memorial Prize, The Amy Springarn award of the Crisis Magazine, second prize in Opportunity Magazines first poetry contest and second prize in the poetry contest in Palms. He was the second black to be awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship as well.

On April 9, 1928 he married Yolande Du Bois. During the second year of their marriage, Cullen published The Black Christ and Other Poems. The Black Christ, which he considered his longest complicated poem, critics and reviewers saw as his weakest work. A short time later they divorced and Cullen remarried 10 years later to Ida Mae Roberson.

From his less distinguished work until his death he wrote considerably less.