Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) (1934-2014)

A selective list of online literary criticism for 20th century African American poet and playwright Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones), favoring signed scholarly articles and articles from peer-reviewed sources

main page | 20th-c literature | 20th-c poetry | beat writers | later african american poets

introduction

"Amiri Baraka." An introduction to Amiri Baraka, plus excerpts of reputable critical discussions of some poems, from the Modern American Poetry Site (Univ. of Illinois).

"Amiri Baraka." An encyclopedia-type article on Amiri Baraka's career, includes list of works and a secondary reading list, from the Poetry Foundation.

"Amiri Baraka." An introduction to Amiri Baraka. Also A Brief Guide to the Black Arts Movement. From the Academy of American Poets.

"Amiri Baraka." A teaching guide for Amiri Baraka, from educational publisher Heath.

The official Amiri Baraka web site.

literary criticism

Early, Gerald. "The Case of Leroi Jones/Amiri Baraka." Salmagundi 70/71 (Spring/Summer 1986) pp 343-52 [jstor free].

Kumar, Nita N. "The Logic of Retribution: Amiri Baraka's Dutchman." African American Review 37, 2/3 (Summer/Autumn 2003) pp 271-79 [questia subscription service].

Prevallet, Kristin. "The Exquisite Extremes of Poetry (Watten and Baraka on the Brink)." "Watten cites several examples from the cultural, literary, and political history of the 1960s in order to establish what he calls the 'cultural poetics' that gave way to language poetry. Baraka had aggressively disagreed with Watten’s contextualizing of the 1960s, and ultimately sought to set the record straight and assert his own conception of radical politics." Jacket Magazine 12 (2000)

Smith, David L. "Amiri Baraka and the Black Arts of Black Art." boundary 2 15, 1/2 (Autumn/Winter 1986/1987) pp 235-54 [jstor preview or purchase].

Thompson, Deborah. "Keeping up with the Joneses: The naming of racial identities in the autobiographical writings of LeRoi Jones/ Amiri Baraka, Hettie Jones, and Lisa Jones." College Literature 29, 1 (Winter 2002) pp 83-101 [jstor preview or purchase].

Won-gu Kim, Daniel. "In the tradition: Amiri Baraka, black liberation, and avant-garde praxis in the U.S." African American Review 37, 2/3 (Summer/Autumn 2003) [questia subscription service].

main page | 20th-c literature | 20th-c poetry | beat writers | later african american poets

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