Claude McKay (born Festus Claudius McKay) (September 15, 1889 – May 22, 1948) was a Jamaican-American writer and poet. He was a seminal figure in the Harlem Renaissance and wrote four novels: Home to Harlem (1928), a best-seller which won the Harmon Gold Award for Literature, Banjo (1929), Banana Bottom (1933) and in 1941 the manuscript of a novel that has not yet been published called Amiable With Big Teeth: A Novel of the Love Affair Between the Communists and the Poor Black Sheep of Harlem. McKay also authored a collection of short stories, Gingertown (1932), and two autobiographical books, A Long Way from Home (1937) and Harlem: Negro Metropolis (1940). His 1922 book of poetry, Harlem Shadows, was among the first books published during the Harlem Renaissance. His poetry collection, Selected Poems, was published posthumously, in 1953.
McKay was attracted to communism in his early life, but he was never a member of the Communist Party.
Read more about Claude McKay: Early Life, Career in The United States, In London, Home To Harlem and Other Works, Legacy, Awards, Unknown Manuscript
Famous quotes by claude mckay:
“Deep in the secret chambers of my heart
I muse my life-long hate, and without flinch
I bear it nobly as I live my part.”
—Claude McKay (1889–1948)
“Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!”
—Claude McKay (1889–1948)
“If we must die, O let us nobly die,
So that our precious blood may not be shed
In vain; then even the monsters we defy
Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!”
—Claude McKay (1889–1948)
“I have forgotten much, but still remember
The poinsettia’s red, blood-red in warm December.”
—Claude McKay (1889–1948)
“Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,
And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth,
Stealing my breath of life, I will confess
I love this cultured hell that tests my youth!”
—Claude McKay (1889–1948)