Born in Alliance on June 15, 1921.   James found early jobs on farms and ranches, including working as a “summertime cowboy,” herding cattle on the ranch of Charlotte Worley.  James graduated from Alliance High School as Valedictorian in 1939.  After high school, James held a series of odd jobs, ranging from elevator operator to junkyard worker, and, for a short time, as a professional basketball player.  He joined the Civil Conservation Corps and then, at age 20, he joined the United States Army. He served as confidential secretary to the Assistant Inspector General of the U.S. Army, Brigadier General Benjamin O Davis, Sr., the nation’s first black general officer.

James received his undergraduate degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C.  He earned his Master's Degree from Northwestern University and his PhD from Columbia University.

He taught at the City College of New York, where in the 1960’s he taught the college’s first class on African American poetry.  He also taught at the University of Toulouse as a Fulbright scholar in 1968 – 1969.  He later taught at the University of Grenoble and the University of Warsaw.  From 1986 until his death on September 28, 2013, at the age of 92, he resided in Paris, France.

James was a published poet, scholar, and critic.   He published more than 300 poems and 13 individual books.  He has been referred to as one of the best, most overlooked poets of his time.  In addition to his poetry, he also edited the influential anthology of African American literature, “Dark Symphony: Negro Literature in America”.  The Anthology, published in 1968 by Free Press,, was one of the first major collections of African American writings.  This anthology and James’ work as an educator heavily influenced the birth of the African American literature genre.