Amiri Baraka was an influential American poet, essayist, and playwright whose work delves deeply into themes of race, identity, and social injustice. His writing, often infused with the rhythms and soul of jazz, explores the complex psychological and political tensions of the African American experience. Baraka utilized literature as a tool to provoke awareness and advocate for radical change, earning a reputation as a provocative and uncompromising voice. His work remains a significant contribution to American letters and social commentary.
The environments and social values inspired Amiri Baraka's poetics and changed during the course of his life - emerged from the Beat generation, while his later writing is marked by rebellious fervor and subversive ideology
Discusses modern jazz movements and musicians, including Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Cecil Taylor, Eric Dolphy, Archie Shepp, and Sun-Ra.
For almost half a century, Amiri Baraka has ranked among the most important commentators on African American music and culture. Assembling his writings on music, this title combines autobiography, history, musical analysis, and political commentary to recall the sounds, people, times, and places he's encountered.
"The path the slave took to 'citizenship' is what I want to look at. And I make my analogy through the slave citizen's music -- through the music that is most closely associated with him: blues and a later, but parallel development, jazz... [If] the Negro represents, or is symbolic of, something in and about the nature of American culture, this certainly should be revealed by his characteristic music." So says Amiri Baraka in the Introduction to Blues People, his classic work on the place of jazz and blues in American social, musical, economic, and cultural history. From the music of African slaves in the United States through the music scene of the 1960's, Baraka traces the influence of what he calls "negro music" on white America -- not only in the context of music and pop culture but also in terms of the values and perspectives passed on through the music. In tracing the music, he brilliantly illuminates the influence of African Americans on American culture and history.
-- "The story of Baraka's metamorphoses is itself part of the story of contemporary literature's development". -- Publisher's Weekly-- First publication of the original, unexpurgated text-- Includes a new introduction by the author Poet, dramatist, critic, teacher, and political activist Amiri Baraka, born Leroy Jones in 1934, was a driving force in the sixties Black Arts Movement and continues to have a powerful influence on African-American culture. In this candid autobiography, he recounts the experiences that led him to change African-American literature, from his role in black nationalism after the assassination of Malcolm X to his involvement in Civil Rights clashes and commitment to an international socialist vision. Unavailable since 1986, this is the first unedited publication of the autobiography, which sold over 30,000 copies.
This new book of previously uncollected poetry (1984-1995) demonstrates Baraka's gift for the music of thought, and reveals his continued mastery of tone and performance. Engaging in the primary issues of African-American music and contemporary politics, and imbuing his homages to such grand figures of America as Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Sarah Vaughn, Albert Ayler, and John Coltrane with a passion that has not abated over the years, Baraka glories in his own virtuosity.
Among the 110 contributors: Raymond Carver, Amiri Baraka, Jean Thompson, Charles Bukowski, Isabella Gardner, Ted Kooser, Robert Bly, Robert Creeley . . . Selections made from nominations by the editors of independent noncommercial presses and magazines, spanning the period from 1965 to 1977. Editor's Choice II: Fiction, Poetry & Art from the U.S. Small Press covers 1978 to 1983. Editor's Choice III covers 1984 to 1990.
