<I>Color</I>

Countee Cullen (1903 – 1946) was a leading literary figure in the Harlem Renaissance. He published Color in 1925, the same year he graduated from New York University and began a master's program at Harvard University. Written in the Romantic style, Color is a poetic exploration of the black experience, its beauty, the effects of racism and segregation, and religious frustrations. Many of the poems were previously published in various literary magazines and had already made Countee Cullen a well-recognized literary figure. Color is thought to be his most well-regarded work.