Who was Claude McKay?

Answer 1

Claude McKayClaude McKay was an early Harlem Renaissance poet and novelist who was born in Jamaica. His poetry involved themes of inequality and oppression, usually focusing on black Americans. Finding a solution to inequality in Communism, he took a pilgrimage to Moscow in 1922 after being inspired by the 1917 Russian Revolution. But after the trip, he became disillusioned with Communism because he realized that they weren't concerned with racial inequality in America and used black artists as tools of Propaganda. Eventually he came to hate Communism and turned instead to Catholicism.

Probably his most famous poem is "If We Must Die," which is an angry protest sonnet. He wrote it after the violent Red Summer of 1919 in which many blacks were beaten or killed as a result of the fear and nativism that resulted from WWI. The poem, however, speaks of universal oppression and advocates violent protest. Another famous poem is "America," which describes his ambivalence towards the city and America; he hated the city yet was invigorated by it. "Harlem Shadows" speaks of blacks more specifically and is a subtle protest sonnet.

McKay also wrote successful novels such as "Home to Harlem," "Banana Bottom," "Banjo," and autobiography "A Long Way from Home."