If We Must Die The Essential Claude McKay
by Claude McKay
A searing collection from trailblazing poet Claude McKay, selected and with a new introduction by Nicole Sealey
Claude McKay is known as a seminal figure in the Harlem Renaissance who wrote powerful and lasting poetry about the Black experience, both in his home country of Jamaica and in the US, where he spent many years of his life. Experiencing racism and prejudice in both places, he wrote unsparingly about the exploitation and oppression of Black people, in poetry that has stood the test of time and continues to feel shockingly relevant today.
In this collection of essential poems, with a new introduction that frames McKay’s work for today’s reader, lauded poet Nicole Sealey has gathered some of his most resonant and enduring work, including “If We Must Die,” perhaps his most famous poem. Ranging in tone and subject—from a prideful celebration of his African heritage to a moving tribute to his mother’s life and peaceful death to a furious challenge to white bigots—McKay wrote fiercely and imaginatively about the complex realities he faced in both his home and adopted countries.
If We Must Die is a deeply engaging and multilayered collection from one of the twentieth century’s most resounding voices.
RELEASED2023
PUBLISHERHarperCollins
LENGTH128
LANGUAGEEN
Festus Claudius McKay (September 15, 1890 – May 22, 1948) was a Jamaican-American writer and poet, and a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Jamaica, McKay first traveled to the United States to attend college, and encountered W.E.B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk which stimulated McKay’s interest in political involvement. He moved to New York City in 1914 and in 1919 wrote "If We Must Die", one of his best known works, a widely reprinted sonnet responding to the wave of white-on-black race riots and lynchings following the conclusion of the First World War.
If We Must Die The Essential Claude McKay
by Claude McKay
A searing collection from trailblazing poet Claude McKay, selected and with a new introduction by Nicole Sealey
Claude McKay is known as a seminal figure in the Harlem Renaissance who wrote powerful and lasting poetry about the Black experience, both in his home country of Jamaica and in the US, where he spent many years of his life. Experiencing racism and prejudice in both places, he wrote unsparingly about the exploitation and oppression of Black people, in poetry that has stood the test of time and continues to feel shockingly relevant today.
In this collection of essential poems, with a new introduction that frames McKay’s work for today’s reader, lauded poet Nicole Sealey has gathered some of his most resonant and enduring work, including “If We Must Die,” perhaps his most famous poem. Ranging in tone and subject—from a prideful celebration of his African heritage to a moving tribute to his mother’s life and peaceful death to a furious challenge to white bigots—McKay wrote fiercely and imaginatively about the complex realities he faced in both his home and adopted countries.
If We Must Die is a deeply engaging and multilayered collection from one of the twentieth century’s most resounding voices.
RELEASED2023
PUBLISHERHarperCollins
LENGTH128
LANGUAGEEN
Festus Claudius McKay (September 15, 1890 – May 22, 1948) was a Jamaican-American writer and poet, and a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Jamaica, McKay first traveled to the United States to attend college, and encountered W.E.B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk which stimulated McKay’s interest in political involvement. He moved to New York City in 1914 and in 1919 wrote "If We Must Die", one of his best known works, a widely reprinted sonnet responding to the wave of white-on-black race riots and lynchings following the conclusion of the First World War.
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