The Black Christ & other poems - 1929

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1929. First Edition. Good. 8vo 8" - 9" tall. Charles Cullen. Sturdy, attractive, tightly bound hardcover, clean, if lightly toned interior, minimal rubbing to extremities. Some extremely dramatic black-and-white engraved woodcuts by Charles Cullen, his brother. Blue cloth over boards, black cloth-backed. Abraded paper label to front cover, black over tan. Even more abraded paper title label to spine. Moderate rubbing to extremities, light bleed-through of blue at upper rear panel. 110 pp. and with a final, arresting, Christian-themed image at end. Countee Cullen (born Countee LeRoy Porter; May 30, 1903 – January 9, 1946) was an extremely important American poet, novelist, children's writer, and playwright. His importance to the so-called Harlem Renaissance is unquestioned. His precise birthplace remains unknown, whether Baltimore, Maryland, New York City or Louisville. He was adopted at age 15 by "Reverend Frederick A. Cullen, pastor of Salem Methodist Episcopal Church, Harlem's largest congregation, and his wife, the former Carolyn Belle Mitchell; the former became "president of the Harlem chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)" (Wikipedia). His eventual marriage to W.E.B. Du Bois's daughter Yolande was allegedly the social event of the year but the marriage was fraught with tension not least owing to Countee's stated love for men despite his love for his wife (and hers for him). This collection, The Black Christ & other poems, look at the importance of faith and justice among African-Americans, linking their pain and suffering with that of Jesus Christ. Countee Cullen was an exceedingly-proud-of-his-race man, a fine poet and man. He wrote painfully about racial segregation, Jim Crow laws and lynching in the South. The final image offered by Charles Cullen suggests a sort of Black Messiah figure (dedicated, he says, to White America") and that was fleshed out in the work of "other African-American writers such as Langston Hughes, Claude Mackay, and Jean Toomer" (Wikipedia). The illustrator, Charles Cullen, was apparently unrelated, but he also did decorations and illustrations for Langston Hughes. 110 pp.Member, I.O.B.A., C.B.A., and adherent to the highest ethical standards. Additional postage may be required for oversize or especially heavy volumes, and for sets.