Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation

Martin Farawell, Program Director, Poetry
Research Assistance: Stacey Balkun, Festival Assistant

Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1934, Amiri Baraka (formerly known as LeRoi Jones) was already an acclaimed poet and Obie-award-winning playwright in 1965 when Malcom X was assassinated. His move in the aftermath from Greenwich Village to Harlem was far more than a symbolic gesture. It marked his departure from the aesthetics and politics of the Beat generation, of which he’d become an integral member, to the forming of the Black Arts Movement, the major force in shaping the multiculturalism that transformed the arts and arts education during the latter half of the twentieth century.

In the more than four decades that have passed, Mr. Baraka has dedicated much of his art to speaking out against inequality and oppression. He has said art that does not address the social crises of its times supports the status quo by its silence, and that the purpose of his art is to educate and advocate for change. His outspoken political opinions have often resulted in controversy. One of the more notable recent cases was his reading of “Somebody Blew Up America” at the 2002 Dodge Poetry Festival, which led to the dissolution of the New Jersey Poet Laureateship.

An internationally-recognized poet, dramatist, essayist and musical historian, Baraka’s place in his hometown is unique among artists of his stature. He has been committed to remaining actively engaged in the life of his community, devoting decades to supporting Newark’s artistic, cultural, social and political life, and has earned the respect and gratitude of the generations of artists he has encouraged and mentored there.

Like many poets who were part of the Black Arts Movement, Baraka’s poetry is shaped by what the late Sekou Sundiata defined as the “oralizing” tradition that links contemporary poetry to the ancient griots of Africa. His deep study of jazz and blues structures have also been a major influence, and he and his peers were the precursors of the rap, hip hop and spoken word artists who have emerged in recent decades.

There are many audio recordings on the web that offer opportunities to hear Baraka reading his poetry. A short video segment from Def Poetry Jam offers an example of vintage Baraka.

A longer reading, which includes Robert Hass’ wonderful introduction, can be seen on UC Berkeley’s Lunch Poems series.

Please use the “Share your thoughts with us” box below to share other resources you may have found for this poet. In this way, we can build together a mini-wiki-encyclopedia on the 2010 Festival Poets.

Return in the weeks ahead as we continue to profile the 2010 Festival Poets.

Martin Farawell, Program Director, Poetry

Last week, we heard four-time National Poetry Slam Individual Champion Patricia Smith read her poem “34” from Blood Dazzler, her book-length meditation on Hurricane Katrina. To continue our exploration of poetry as an oral/aural art, listen to Sekou Sundiata read his poem “New American Theatre.”

Sundiata is such a gifted reader, that it is easy to miss how masterfully spoken English has been crafted into the elaborate rhythms of this poem. Many of us were taught in English classes how to scan stressed and unstressed syllables to hear the meters of traditional poetic forms. But meter is only one way to create rhythm in poetry.

A recurrent alteration in any of the acoustic qualities of human speech can be used to create rhythm. Meter, rhyme, repetition, and parallel syntax are all widely used for this purpose. Sundiata goes beyond these familiar devices. He weaves every aspect of speech into the varying rhythms of his poems: the shapes of sentences, phrases, words, and syllables, the pitches of vowels and the textures of consonants.

Listen to “New American Theatre” again. Sundiata’s use of sound is so masterful he appears to compose vowel melodies. In case you suspect this is the result of his skill as an orator, listen more closely. Say a few of his lines aloud yourself. You will quickly realize the shaping of sound is as deliberate and controlled as it is in any musical composition.

Although print versions of Sundiata’s poems are hard to find, even when encountered on the printed page the rhythms of his lines come alive in the reader’s ear. Sekou Sundiata can be heard reading with musical accompaniment on longstoryshort and The Blue Oneness of Dreams.

Return to Poetry Fridays in the weeks ahead, when we will feature video clips of readings by Taslima Nasreen, Brian Turner, Kevin Young, and others.