"Claude McKay." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.

<https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/claude-mckay>.
This source gives a very brief overview of McKays life, and supplies some
samples of his poetry. McKay was born on September 15, 1889 in Jamaica. He
moved to the United States after publishing his first book in 1912 where he
studied at the Tuskegee Institute and then at Kansas State University. He later
moved to Harlem, and his work set the tone for the Harlem Renaissance. He
used passionate language in his literature and took on several themes,
such as his Jamaican roots, romance, and even some political and social
concerns from his perspective as a black man in the United States as well. He
died on May 22, 1948.
"Claude McKay Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.biography.com/people/claude-mckay-9392654>.
This source, while more substantial than the one from Poets.org, still gives
another brief summary of McKays life and his important work. McKay was
born in Sunny Ville, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica as Festus Claudius McKay. In
his thirties, McKay had, for a time, supported Communism, even visiting the
Soviet Union on several occasions. In his latter life he rejected this, however,
and converted to Catholicism. Most of McKays best known work is for social
and political justice for the mistreatment of African Americans with poems
like If We Must Die. He also published novels and short stories in addition to
his poetry. McKay did a great deal of traveling throughout his life as well,
including an 11 year trip to Europe and North Africa, which is when he wrote,
among other things, the collection including Harlem Shadows. He also
wrote an autobiography called A Long Way from Home, though it was
criticized for dishonesty about some of McKays more controversial thoughts
and feelings, such as denying that he ever considered Communism. McKay
finally died of a heart attack on May 22, 1948.
James, Winston, and Claude McKay. A Fierce Hatred of Injustice: Claude McKay's
Jamaica and His Poetry of Rebellion. London: Verso, 2000. Print.
This source covers McKays earlier life while still in Jamaica and gives
additional context to some of his work and upbringing. McKay preferred to be
known as a poet, though he was successful in other mediums. He began
writing at 10 years old. McKay was the last of 11 children in his family, and
one of the 8 who lived to maturity. McKays family was well off, which was
very peculiar at the time for dark-skinned Jamaicans. By the time he was 7,
McKays parents had entrusted most of his upbringing to his older brother,
who was a schoolmaster at the time. McKay used poetry styles similar to
those found in Europe, but was also influenced by his Jamaican roots. One
interesting fact about McKay was that while it is universally agreed that he
was born on September 15, there has been some confusion as to whether it
was in 1889 or in 1890. For a long time, 1889 was his official birth year, but
after he wrote a letter to Alain Locke saying it was in 1890, that then became

the accepted year. His daughter said that this was incorrect, however, and
due to other evidence in his autobiographical poems and the rediscovery of
his birth certificate, it is clear he was actually born in 1889.