Complete Poems
The complete works of a modern black literary pioneer
Claude McKay author William J Maxwell editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:University of Illinois Press
Should be back in stock very soon
This anthology features the complete works of Claude McKay, showcasing his evolution as a key figure in modern black poetry and literature.
The Complete Poems is a comprehensive collection that features both published and previously unpublished works of Claude McKay, a trailblazer in modern black literature. Spanning over three hundred poems, this anthology includes nearly one hundred poems that have never been seen before, allowing readers to explore the vast intellectual landscape of McKay's writing. Born in Jamaica, McKay's journey through life was characterized by his passionate commitment to social justice and cultural representation, beginning with his early poems in Jamaican creole that captured the essence of everyday black life.
After moving to New York, McKay became a pivotal figure in the Harlem Renaissance, revitalizing the English sonnet form and penning powerful works such as If We Must Die. His experiences as a traveler and his political beliefs, particularly his engagement with communism, deeply influenced his writing. After years of exploration across Europe and North Africa, he returned to Harlem in 1934, having distanced himself from the ideologies of Stalin’s Soviet Union. This period marked a transition in his poetry from the intense 'violent sonnets' to more personal, confessional lyrics shaped by his embrace of Catholicism.
In this meticulously curated anthology, readers are invited to experience the full spectrum of McKay's poetic evolution. Vividly introduced and annotated by William J. Maxwell, the Complete Poems provides invaluable insights into the life and work of a significant figure in twentieth-century poetry, showcasing how his diverse experiences enriched his literary voice.
"A volume that no student of the Harlem Renaissance, the leftist interwar period, dissident sexuality studies, the Catholic worker movement, or negritude, diaspora, and Caribbean language literature can live without. . . . Maxwell's skillful salvaging of remote primary material, thorough scholarship, and original criticism substantially reconfigure how we understand the diaspora cruising author, rendering intelligible much that has mystified and sometimes disconcerted [us]. . . . A vital contribution to black studies."--African American Review
"Maxwell's introduction offers a fascinating overview of McKay's life and a spirited defense of his poetry."--Los Angeles Times
"Maxwell has edited this comprehensive volume superbly, hunting down every last poem. . . . [He] has deepened our sense of McKay's life and increased our respect for the independence of mind behind all his work."--Times Literary Supplement
"A brilliant introduction . . . cause for celebration!"--Virginia Quarterly Review
"Claude McKay's Complete Poems comes as an invaluable gift to all lovers of McKay, African-American literature, and literature in general. McKay's eminence among poets of the Harlem Renaissance is richly documented in this scrupulous collection. With a lively, always perceptive introduction and meticulous notes, Complete Poems stands as the definitive gathering of the verse of a writer who saw early the beauty and humanity of the black world at home and abroad."--Arnold Rampersad, author of The Life of Langston Hughes and the Sara Hart Kimball Professor of the Humanities, Stanford University.
"This is a wonderful book. McKay is a hugely important figure in the development of Caribbean and African American poetry, and bringing his poems together in one place does an invaluable service to readers of all backgrounds. Maxwell's outstanding introduction is the most insightful and cogent critical assessment of McKay's poetry to date."--James Smethurst, author of The New Red Negro: The Literary Left and African American Poetry, 1930-1946
ISBN: 9780252069215
Dimensions: 235mm x 152mm x 43mm
Weight: 880g
672 pages