William Waring Cuney (May 6, 1906 – June 30, 1976) was a
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
of the
Harlem Renaissance. He is best known for his poem "No Images," which has been widely anthologized.
Biography
William Waring Cuney was one of a pair of twins
born on May 6, 1906, in Washington D.C. His father, Norris Wright Cuney II, worked for the federal government. His mother, Madge Louise Baker, taught in the D.C. public school system. Cuney attended the D.C. public schools, graduating from Armstrong High School. He attended
Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...
for a time before earning his B.A. at
Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He also studied at the
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on H ...
in Boston and the Conservatory of Music in Rome.
[Scott (2004), p. 281.](_blank)
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In 1926, while Cuney was still a student at Lincoln University, his poem "No Images" won first prize in a competition sponsored by ''Opportunity'' magazine. The poem poignantly portrays a black woman's internalization of European standards of beauty. It has been widely anthologized and is considered a minor classic of the New Negro Movement
The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...
.
At Lincoln University, Cuney was a classmate and friend of Langston Hughes. Decades later he co-edited an anthology with Hughes, ''Lincoln University Poets: Centennial Anthology, 1854–1954'' (New York: Fine Editions, 1954).[Scott (2004), p. 280.](_blank)
/ref>
After training for a career in music as a singer along with his brother who was a pianist, Cuney decided he had a poor singing voice and never performed professionally. His writing, however, was very much influenced by his love of music. His poems are strongly rhythmic, often written in ballad form or in original forms reminiscent of blues songs. Many are character sketches of inner-city African Americans. A number of his poems have been set to music and recorded by Josh White
Joshua Daniel White (February 11, 1914 – September 5, 1969) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names Pinewood Tom and Tippy Barton in the 1930s.
White grew up in the Sout ...
, Al Haig
Alan Warren Haig (July 19, 1922 – November 16, 1982) was an American jazz pianist, best known as one of the pioneers of bebop.
Biography
Haig was born in Newark, New Jersey and raised in nearby Nutley. In 1940, he majored in piano at Obe ...
, and Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...
. His poems were published in journals such as ''The Crisis
''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Mi ...
'' and '' Black World'', and in anthologies edited by Countee Cullen
Countee Cullen (born Countee LeRoy Porter; May 30, 1903 – January 9, 1946) was an American poet, novelist, children's writer, and playwright, particularly well known during the Harlem Renaissance.
Early life
Childhood
Countee LeRoy Porter ...
, James Weldon Johnson
James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871June 26, 1938) was an American writer and civil rights activist. He was married to civil rights activist Grace Nail Johnson. Johnson was a leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peop ...
, Sterling Brown, and Arna Bontemps.
Although his work was largely forgotten in the United States by the 1950s, it was translated into German and Dutch and developed a following in Europe. He published only two volumes of poetry in his lifetime: ''Puzzles'', a limited edition published in the Netherlands in 1960, and ''Storefront Church'', published in London in 1973. He died in New York City on June 30, 1976.
See also
* Norris Wright Cuney
Norris Wright Cuney, or simply Wright Cuney, (May 12, 1846March 3, 1898) was an American politician, businessman, union leader, and advocate for the rights of African-Americans in Texas. Following the American Civil War, he became active in G ...
* Maud Cuney Hare
Maud Cuney Hare (''née'' Cuney, February 16, 1874–February 13 or 14, 1936) was an American pianist, musicologist, writer, and African-American activist in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. She was born in Galveston, the daughter of ...
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuney, Waring
1906 births
1976 deaths
Writers from Washington, D.C.
African-American poets
Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni
20th-century American poets
20th-century African-American writers