The Hidden Homosexual Theme in Countee Cullen’s Poetry

Any literary work reflects not only the time and culture of an author’s surroundings, but also mirrors the writer’s individual experiences. It is for this reason literary anthologies generally include brief biographies of an author along with his works. Biographical backgrounds are a useful tool in analyzing literature, but are especially valuable when dealing with the multi-faceted Harlem Renaissance poet, Countee Cullen. Interestingly, The Norton Anthology of African American Literature omits the important biographical detail of Cullen’s homosexuality. Although the reader can ascertain a limited understanding of Cullen’s poetry without this knowledge, to comprehend the subtle nuances within his verse the poet’s sexuality is an essential key.

Before attempting to analyze this aspect of Cullen’s poetry, it is important to contextualize the poet’s experience as a black gay poet. Cullen’s early childhood is somewhat hazy. He was born in 1903 to Elizabeth Lucas in Louisville, Kentucky. From infancy through his eleventh year, he lived with Elizabeth Porter, who is thought to be his paternal grandmother. After Porter died, Cullen was adopted by the Re

In the biographical sketch of Countee Cullen presented in The Norton Anthology of African American Literature the editors note that Cullen, who did not want to be categorized as a Negro poet, wrote best when addressing racial themes (1305). One can only imagine how Cullen, who worked so hard trying to hide his homosexuality from the world, would have felt about his current classification as a gay Harlem Renaissance poet. Ironically, today Cullen is renowned for the two aspects of his life by which he sought not to be defined. Paradoxically, Cullen’s success sprang from his African heritage and his gay identity. It is with the blending of the two themes where Cullen shines as a poet. It is in the poems which house this strange mixing of overt and covert messages that one finds Cullen’s most memorable and intriguing work

First, consider the re-occurring phrase “So I lie.” This may well be expressing not only the toning down or masking of Cullen’s African heritage in a white world, but also may indicate his camouflaging of his homosexual identity in a heterosexual world. It is not only Cullen’s ethnicity that alienates him from the world, but it is also his sexuality. Therefore, the estrangement expressed in “Heritage” is dual in its implication. In his insightful essay, Peter Powers notes, “[…] in Cullen’s work ‘paganism’ stands primarily as a marker for erotic desire rather than a search for origins” (Powers 664). One must not lose sight of the fact that for Cullen erotic desire was primarily homosexual desire. Therefore when Cullen writes, “Quench my pride and cool my blood, / Lest I perish in th

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