“My poetry, I think, has become the way of my giving out what music is within me” -Countee Cullen
I think that many other poets would resonate with this quote. When I think of the term music, I think of vocal and/or instrumental sound, but in reality music may mean much more than just the playing of songs. Some people would put poetry into the category of music, but I do not. I think that poetry in itself is unique and does not need to be in the same category as “music”. Obviously many poems can be turned into songs, but I do not think that because a poem was changed to a song necessarily makes it better. Songs are meant to be listened to and poems are meant to be read. I think generally poems communicate the message better than songs. In songs, one can listen to it passively or just enjoy the beat and completely miss the point of the song.
After reading Cullen’s poems, I feel more connected to him. Even though by looking at some poems just a few times, I probably did not fully grasp the point he was trying to convey I felt that I am doing more analysis then I would do if his poems were changed into songs. He is incredibly gifted, and I believe that he knows how to enhance the value of shorter poems. Additionally, Cullen truly believed that art was beyond racial boundaries and could be employed to bridge the gap between blacks and whites. Because of his success in both black and white cultures, and because of his romantic temperament, he formulated an aesthetic that embraced both cultures that will be remembered for generations.
Burleigh
Assuming that poems and songs are not necessarily both considered forms of "music," I would like to add that music is unique in that it expresses more because we may listen to the text while also listening to the singer's tone. One singer and composer and composer that I have in mind is Harry T. Burleigh because he is such a prominent figure and his impact would most likely not be as grand if he was a poet.
With his solo and choral arrangements of spirituals in the early 1900s, he paved the way for black and white composers. His work assisted in the preservation and transformation of one of America's first musical contributions—the songs that emerged from the horrors of slavery while also giving rise to some of the country's most vivacious musical traditions.
Burleigh's arrangements had a crucial role in keeping spirituals in our collective memory. Additionally, they serve as a reminder of the cultural importance of black American music. Spirituals' preservation was so important that it contributed to the development of other musical genres including blues, jazz, ragtime, rock 'n' roll, etc.
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