Why is claude mckay famous

He was educated by his older brother, who possessed a library of English novels, poetry, and scientific texts. In , McKay published a book of verse called Songs of Jamaica Gardner , recording his impressions of black life in Jamaica in dialect.

He remained there only a few months, leaving to study agriculture at Kansas State University. McKay also wrote on a variety of subjects, from his Jamaican homeland to romantic love, with a use of passionate language. Vincent Millay and Sinclair Lewis. Losing faith in Communism, he turned his attention to the teachings of various spiritual and political leaders in Harlem, eventually converting to Catholicism.

He died on May 22, Read more about Jean Toomer Langston Hughes A poet, novelist, fiction writer, and playwright, Langston Hughes is known for his insightful, National Poetry Month. Materials for Teachers Teach This Poem.

Poems for Kids. Poetry for Teens. Lesson Plans. Resources for Teachers. Home to Harlem was the most popular of the three, though all were well received by critics. Returning to Harlem, McKay began work on an autobiography entitled A Long Way from Home , which focuses on his experiences as an oppressed minority and agitates for a broad movement against colonialism and segregation. The book has been criticized for its less-than-candid treatment of some of McKay's more controversial interests and beliefs.

His consistent denial of having joined the Communist Party, despite multiple trips to the Soviet Union, is a point of particular contention. McKay went through several changes toward the end of his life. He embraced Catholicism, retreating from Communism entirely, and officially became an American citizen in His experiences working with Catholic relief organizations in New York inspired a new essay collection, Harlem: Negro Metropolis , which offers observations and analysis of the African American community in Harlem at the time.

McKay died of a heart attack in Chicago, Illinois, on May 22, We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Thomas also had immense respect for British culture, particularly the Christian fundamentalist faith that he had followed since his youth. The latter instilled in him a sense of moral uprightness, which included teetotaling and an aversion to profanity.

His relationship with Hannah, on the other hand, was warm and intimate. Before becoming a poet, McKay foresaw a future as a manual laborer. Lacking skill as a farmer, he chose to learn a trade and, in , was fortunately awarded a trade scholarship to study in Kingston. He returned home to Sunny Ville. He returned to Kingston and worked briefly at a match factory before joining the constabulary.

He formed close friendships with other men on the force, particularly elder men, who served as surrogate fathers. This, however, may not have been his first homosexual relationship. Some scholars have also suggested the possibility of a romance between McKay and his mentor, Walter Jekyll. After accepting an offer to attend Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he immigrated to the United States.

He disembarked in Charleston, South Carolina in the late summer. Though Jamaica, too, was a society stratified by color, with the white minority on top, dark-skinned Black people like McKay on the bottom, and more privileged lighter-skinned Black people serving as intermediaries between the ruling and peasant class, the hostility of white Southerners enraged McKay. He remained there for two years, but never graduated. The couple married on July 30, Around the time of his wedding, McKay briefly became a restaurateur, opening an eatery in Brooklyn in partnership with a friend.

After separating from his wife, he abandoned his daughter. Having neither the patience to be a husband and father nor the acumen for entrepreneurship, McKay focused on poetry. He supported himself with wages from menial jobs then found steadier work as a server in a railroad dining car. The job also fulfilled his wanderlust.