Selected Poetry of Amiri Baraka/LeRoi Jones
"Selected Poetry of Amiri Baraka/LeRoi Jones" encompasses the diverse and impactful work of Amiri Baraka, a prominent African American poet known for his significant contributions to both the Beat generation and the Black Arts movement during the 20th century. Baraka's poetry is characterized by its introspective nature alongside a strong public voice, utilizing unrhymed forms and African American vernacular to engage with personal and political themes. His work spans three distinct periods: his early affiliations with the Beats, a later phase marked by militant Black Nationalism, and a subsequent alignment with Marxist and anti-colonial ideologies.
Baraka's early poems explore the complexities of African American identity and culture, often critiquing societal norms and Hollywood representations. As his work evolved, he delved deeper into the themes of personal and communal identity, positioning poetry as a vital tool for social change. His later writings emphasize the role of art and culture in political activism, suggesting that poetry can reflect and shape community character. Overall, Baraka's poetry remains not just a reflection of his personal journey but also a compelling commentary on the broader socio-political landscape of America, making it a significant subject for those interested in literature, cultural studies, and history.
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Selected Poetry of Amiri Baraka/LeRoi Jones
First published: 1979
The Work
Perhaps the most influential African American poet of the last half of the twentieth century, Amiri Baraka helped define the Beat generation and served as a guide for the Black Arts movement of the 1960’s. Baraka’s work is simultaneously introspective and public; his combination of unrhymed open forms, African American vernacular speech, and allusions to American popular culture produces poems that express Baraka’s personal background while addressing political issues. Baraka’s poetry draws upon the poetic techniques of William Carlos Williams and Charles Olson, and upon traditional oratory, ranging from the African American church to streetcorner rapping.
Baraka has divided his work into three periods: his association with the Beats (1957-1963), a militant Black Nationalist period (1965-1974), and, after 1975, an adherence to Marxism and Third World anticolonial politics. These periods are marked by changes in the poet’s ideology but not in his poetic style. Early poems such as “Hymn to Lanie Poo”—focusing on tension between middle-class and poor black people—and “Notes for a Speech” consider whether or not African Americans have a genuine ethnic identity and culture of their own as opposed to a segregated existence that only mirrors white America. This theme receives more attention in poems of the 1960’s such as “Poem for Willie Best” and “Poem for HalfWhite College Students” which indict Hollywood stereotypes. Another collection, Transbluesency: Selected Poems (1961-1995), represents Baraka’s work since 1979.
Poems of the Black Nationalist period address questions of the poet’s personal and racial identity. The poems of this period suggest that poetry itself is a means of creating individual and communal identity. In “Numbers, Letters” Baraka writes: “I cant be anything I’m not/ Except these words pretend/ to life not yet explained.” Explicitly political poems, such as “The Nation Is Like Ourselves,” propose that each person’s efforts or failings collectively amount to a community’s character. After 1975, poems such as “In the Tradition” argue—with some consistency with Baraka’s earlier views—that although Marxism is the means to political progress, only an art of the people that insists on showing that “the universal/ is the entire collection/ of particulars” will prepare people to work toward a better future. “In the Tradition” and a later series titled “Why’s” present musicians and political leaders as equally powerful cultural activists, reinforcing Baraka’s idea that poetry is a force for change.
Bibliography
Brown, Lloyd W. Amiri Baraka. Boston: Twayne, 1980.
Gibson, Donald B., ed. Modern Black Poets: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1973.
Harris, William J. The Poetry and Poetics of Amiri Baraka: The Jazz Aesthetic. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1985.
Nielsen, Aldon L. Writing Between the Lines: Race and Intertextuality. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1994.