Incident

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The poem "Incident" by Countee Cullen is very straight forward in its subject relating to Modernism. Not only is this poem very straight forward which would classify it in the imagists section of Modernism, but it is states strong facts about racism, meaning that it would have been written during the Harlem Renaissance. Also taking into account that Cullen is an African American, it is concluded that this event that he writes about in the poem actually happened. Lastly, this poem is just one of many that Cullen wrote where he used personal events as a topic.

Countee Cullen is an African American and his birth place is unknown. So many people believe that he was either born in Louisville, Kentucky or in Baltimore (Campbell). Going with the assumption that Cullen was born in Baltimore, it would be plausible that this event that he writes about really happened to him. Although, the poem states that he was only in Baltimore for a few months which leads many to believe that this has to do with the Harlem Renaissance because he and his family at the time are just trying to find a place out of the south to move to and Baltimore was one of their stops (Campbell).

Cullen writes in this poem being in Baltimore and how he is filled with glee and excitement (Cullen). The Harlem Renaissance, where many African Americans moved from the southern states to more northern states, may be part of why this poem was written. Like stated earlier, many people believe that Cullen was simply on a ride with his family at the time and they were in Baltimore to find a place to move after they left the south. In the poem, Cullen has just been called a nigger by a different boy around his age and instead of focusing though on the time that Cullen was in Baltimore or the reason he was there, the focus should be on the last two lines of this poem. Cullen writes, “…Of all the things that happened there That's all that I remember.” When he says “there” Cullen is talking about in Baltimore, so he is saying that he has seen the entire town of Baltimore and after seeing everything and all of the excitement that he went through, the only part about that trip is that he was called a nigger by a different boy. Cullen was obviously hurt by this because he makes a statement of telling the reader this.

Many of Cullen’s other poems have to do with the subject of race. It is said that, “Cullen preferred not to be considered as a Black poet, but rather wanted to achieve success on the basis of traditional English standards. However, in spite of this, it was his race-conscious lyrics which were his most fruitful” (Countee). One example of a poem where Cullen also talks about race is his poem The "Shroud of Color" is all about how Cullen is praying to God and he is talking about his color and how he is dark (Cullen "The Shroud"). Compared to the poem "Bells for John Whiteside's Daughter" by John Ransom, both of these poems have a resemblence in their use of personal experiences. Both of these poems use different mental feelings in them and they allow the reader to think about or feel what the author is going through. In "Incident", the reader is sympathizing with the young boy that is being called names. In "Bells for John Whiteside’s Daughter" the reader is imagining themselves as someone who would have known the young girl whose life so suddenly ending. Countee Cullen was an excellent writer in American Modernism period. He truly captured many of the characteristics of Modernism writing including the Harlem Renaissance, imagists style of being straight forward, experimentation with the new town of Baltimore, and expressing to the reader how he feels and his inner emotions.

__Work Cited__ Cambell, Elliot. //Heritage and Life With Countee Cullen//. ECHOES:. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. . "Countee Cullen." //W.E.B. DuBois Learning Center//. Ed. Nellie Y. McKay and Henry Louis Gates. Shades of Black. Web. 20 Apr. 2010. < __http://www.duboislc.org/ ShadesOfBlack/CounteeCullen. html__ >. Cullen, Countee. //W.E.B. DuBois Learning Center//. Ed. Nellie Y. McKay and Henry Louis Gates. Shades of Black. Web. 20 Apr. 2010. < __http://www.duboislc.org/ ShadesOfBlack/CounteeCullen. html__ >. Cullen, Countee. "The Shroud of Color by Countée Cullen." //PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry Search Engine//. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. .

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Countee Cullen was a Harlem Renaissance poet, and in being a poet of the Harlem Renaissance, he wrote during the Modernism period. His life story is somewhat unknown, but what is known about his life is very helpful in understanding where his poems come from. He was adopted when he was younger, and his adoptive father was a minister and a known homosexual (Johnson). Sexuality became more widely discussed and somewhat accepted during the Modernist period (Lorcher). In his poetry, Countee Cullen attacks a lot of racial and religious issues, and that reflects the modernist part of poems (Lorcher). Between his life experiences and his Harlem Renaissance, Countee Cullen became a modernist poet who attacked racial issues, religious issues, and applied these to a form of writing that the white community accepted.

//Incident// by Countee Cullen falls under the Modernism genre, but is also a product of the Harlem Renaissance. Modernism is a literary period in which the self is an alienated one, and collectivism is more popular than individualism (Reuben). The Harlem Renaissance occurred during the period affiliated with Modernism, so it is not unusual for this work to fall under both categories. In the poem, Cullen focuses in on the sudden alienation that the character feels (Cullen). The poem is a story of how a boy being called “nigger” by someone his own age is all he can remember about the whole trip he took. He had smiled at the boy, only to gain such a negative response (Cullen). Primitive attitudes, also common in modernism (Reuben), are also used in the poem (Cullen). Modernism continued to use local color in ways like the way that Cullen places his poem in a specific place, Baltimore, and uses common words and ways of speech of that area.

Countee Cullen’s life is somewhat a mystery, and even his birth place is uncertain (Early). Birth places that have been common are New York City, Baltimore, and Louisville (Early). Since //Incident// is about a trip to Baltimore (Cullen), it is plausible that it is a story of something that happened to him personally, or even perhaps a situation he witnessed someone else go through. As a youth he did extremely well in his high school and went on to study at New York University (Johnson). All of his studies most likely helped get his works noticed in more than just the black community. He could write “white” poetry (Early) which helped his reputation as a good poet grow stronger.

Cullen has a tendency to take his personal feelings and personal situations and put them into poems. Another poem in which Cullen takes personal feelings and situations and puts them into poems is //Lines to my Father// (Cullen). Cullen’s adoptive father always pushed his religion on him, and some may say that Cullen resented that about his father even if they were very close (Early). It seems that through his poetry, Cullen reveals many things about his mysterious life. His theme of being alienated by others in society because he is black is similar to the theme of //I, Too// (Hughes). Both of these poets express feelings of abandonment by either the entire country, in //I, Too (//Hughes), or by one town, in //Incident// (Cullen).

As an author of the Harlem Renaissance and the Modernist period, Countee Cullen wrote about racial and religious issues. Though his life is somewhat obscure, there are a few details that are recognizable in his poems. Typical modernist poets use similar things that Cullen used in his poems. In //Incident// Cullen attacks many issues present during this time period, and on top of that, it is a simply good poem.

Works Cited Cullen, Countee. "Incident by Countée Cullen." //PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry Search Engine//. Web. 27 Apr. 2010. .

Cullen, Countee. "Lines To My Father by Countée Cullen." //PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry Search Engine//. Web. 27 Apr. 2010. .

Early, Gerald. "About Countee Cullen's Life and Career." //Welcome to English « Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois//. Web. 26 Apr. 2010. <[]>.

Hughes, Langston. "I, Too by Langston Hughes." //PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry Search Engine//. Web. 27 Apr. 2010. .

Johnson, Clifton H. "About Countee Cullen's Life and Career." //Welcome to English « Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois//. Web. 26 Apr. 2010. <[]>.

Trent, Lorcher. "Modernism in Literature: What Is Modernism?" //Find Health, Education, Science & Technology Articles, Reviews, How-To and Tech Tips At Bright Hub - Apply To Be A Writer Today!// Web. 30 Apr. 2010. .

Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 7: Early Twentieth Century: American Modernism - An Introduction." //PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide//. Web. 27 Apr. 2010. .