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James Vincent Cunningham was born in Cumberland, Maryland on August 23rd, 1911 to a working-class family. His family moved to Billings, Montana, then later to Denver, Colorado. He graduated from Jesuit High School in 1927 at fifteen years old. His father, a railroad worker, was killed in a work-related accident shortly thereafter. His death cause many financial difficulties in the family and prevented James from attending college for many years. He worked as a messenger boy for the Denver Stock Exchange until the stock market collapsed in October of 1929, leaving him unemployed. He traveled around the Southwest, in search of employment or a college he could attend. He was rejected by many before he was finally invited to Stanford University in California, where he recieved a Ph.D. in 1945. He taught at universities such as Chicago, Hawaii, Harvard, and Virginia.

His first book of collected poems, titled "The Helmsman," was published in 1942. His earlier works, inspired by his Irish Catholic upbringing and classic literature, had obscure meaning. His second collection, titled "The Judge is Fury" and published in 1947, was much clearer in meaning than the previous. He published several collected works and and has one collection which was published after his death.

He was married three times, and died of heart failure in Waltham, Massachusetts, on March 30th, 1985.

Biography by Prettyleia
Submitted 03.26.04