Synopsis "Images in the River: The Life and Work of Waring Cuney"
The poet William Waring Cuney (1906-1976) hails from anillustrious Afro-Texan family whose members include the charismatic politicianNorris Wright Cuney (1846-1898) and his daughter, Maud Cuney Hare (1874-1936), the concert pianist and writer. Waring Cuney's maternal line, after whom he wasnamed, was equally eminent. Cuney was born and raised in Washington, DC, just a fewblocks from Howard University where three generations of his family studied.Despite his privileged upbringing among the city's Black elite, Cuney embracedhis family's passionate commitment to racial uplift and civil rights; inexploring the relationship between African Americans and their environment, hewas thus able to transmute into two books of poetry a broad cross section ofAfrican American life; his poems and songs explore the lives of jazz musicians, athletes, domestic and railway workers, women and children, blues singers, prisoners, sharecroppers, and soldiers. In addition, Cuney published in all themajor Harlem Renaissance journals and anthologies alongside the luminaries ofthe period, many of whom were good friends. Through 100 of his best poems, many never before collected orpublished, and a detailed biographical monograph, Images in the River: The Lifeand Work of Waring Cuney introduces readers to a newly recovered HarlemRenaissance poet, and to the history of a remarkable American family.
