"Saturday's Child" is a poem by American writer Countee Cullen about economic and racial inequality. Originally published in 1925, the poem appeared in Cullen's first collection, Color. Cullen claimed to be born in Louisville, Kentucky, though this remains unconfirmed by birth records. At the age of nine, he moved to New York City, where he was cared for by his grandmother and was later adopted by Reverend Frederick A. Cullen, a Methodist minister. After early academic success, Cullen was accepted to New York University as an undergraduate and subsequently pursued a Masters at Harvard. At the same time, he received a great deal of attention for his writing, publishing poems in national magazines like Harper's and Poetry. Following this rise to intellectual prominence, he became a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance literary movement, alongside luminaries like Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and Jean Toomer. His poetry often dealt with scenes from Black communities, and the pervasiveness of racism in American society. At the same time, he also claimed many white poets as major influences, including John Keats and Edna St. Vincent Millay.
"Saturday's Child" examines the way that two individuals can be born in vastly different circumstances, highlighting the way race impacts their lives. The poem is written in quatrains with an ABAB rhyme scheme. The naturally paired nature of this structure allows the speaker to alternate between describing his birth and that of wealthy, white children. The poem's song-like rhythm also gives the initial impression that it will be like a nursery rhyme, only to undercut that feeling with harsh scenes from the speaker's life.
