Book Description
The first collection of selected poetry from perhaps the preeminent African American literary figure of our time. Baraka almost single-handedly changed both the nature and the form of post-World War II African-American literature, and this volume is an important contribution to Modernist literature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

word beat
Baraka's "Best Of..." collection is quite simply a must-read for any person with an interest in 20th century poetry. The words almost leap out against you when you open the book, and the language is mind-bending. Try to read these poems aloud to yourself, and you might just get the word-kick of a lifetime.Oop Bop Sh'Bam...

The Life of a Revolutionary Poet
This book is not for those sensitive to raw material. But if you're a fan of Mr. Baraka, this book is a 40-year collection, and a definite must for your bookshelf. In the words of Mr. Baraka, "Can you stand such beauty? So violent and transforming." This line from his poem"Return of the Native" encompasses all that is Transbluency. Thisbook is for the true fan of protest poetry. Mr. Baraka uses blues and jazzrhythms as well as the natural essence of words to express himself inamazing ways. I enjoy this book not only because I am a fan, but because itis rare to find a poet who has mastered the art of poetic language andimagery. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (9)

An Awesome Artist and Philosopher
I would not take anyone's word uncritically or unexamined about anything really important.Amiri Baraka is a flawed man. At times he has sounded anti-semitic and other times in his life he has sounded homophobic.

There is plenty in his life to contradict those seemingly mean spirited expressions. However, he was friends to the end with both Allen Ginsberg and James Baldwin among others and had children with Hattie (Cohen?)Jones. And I still don't get the "20 Volume Suicide Note"...musings of somebody not really ready to go quietly into that night?

All that being said, I also find Baraka to be vigorous, rigorous, intellectually and spiritually adventuresome and brave of heart.I have learned MUCH from him.If you don't get it, maybe he isn't talking you or you are not willing to listen...

He has written some beautiful, brilliant poetry that functions through many channels of communication.His essays about African based music are seminal, required, necessary.

Baraka deserves criticism.None of the criticism here so far expresses anything of substance that I can discern.

Personally, I experienced one of my rebirths though the Black Arts Movement.Baraka was one of the leading "midwives".I am VERY thankful for his presence in this crazy, cruel, wonderous world.If you really want to know the truth of what we call "America", the stench and the free-for-all wildflowers, you need to pass by his way.

Reviewing THE BOOK, Not The Controversy Surrounding Its Author
As a native of Newark, N.J., I grew up taking Amiri Baraka for granted. It wasn't until I moved to Maryland and finally read this book that I understood who I had met all those times.

This is an EXTRAORDINARY work that details the growth and development of a significant American artist. Its editor takes much care in selecting samples that allow us to see divergent aspects of Baraka.

Especially significant among the many gems within is the text of his eulogy for James Baldwin and his essay on Jesse Jackson. Those works are required reading for those needing to understand the 20th century African-American experience, particularly those who wish to do so as writers.

This book has guided my view of the (African-)American writer's role.

A worthless book
I read this book and all I know is that Leroi Jones changed his name to Amiri Baraka.

But all he is... is a frustrated angry man.Full of hate and spite.

not deserving much attention
I think this book took me five minutes to read--a lot of talking, no ideas.Original ones, anyway.

An amazing man!
Buy this book. It's that simple. This book provides the reader with a developmental history of one of the greatest LIVING revolutionary minds this country has ever produced. He hits you in the heart without bashing you over the head. You may not agree with everything he says, or how he may have lived portions of his life, but you will be affected (in some capacity) by his wit, intelligence and the fierceness of his conventions. A must for anyone who thinks that they are " a radical" or "an activist."

This book is rated UR and may not be suitable for un-realistic audiences. ... Read more

Book Description

Comprising short fiction from the early 1970s to the twenty-first century-most of which has never been published-Tales of the Out & the Gone reflects the astounding evolution of America's most provocative literary anti-hero.

Customer Reviews (1)

Far Out
Amiri Baraka's Tales of the Out & the Gone definitely made this reader pause and ponder various concepts presented in the book. This collection of short stories and poems, some previously released, are `Out' (of the ordinary) and `Gone' (crazier, wilder, deeper and way out). The stories cover everything from corrupt politicians to rhythm travel: being able to travel wherever and whenever a song is played.

Amiri Baraka is a true literary genius. His manipulation of language and grammar is truly unique. His style and brilliance may serve as a hindrance for many readers in search of a straightforward story. Tales of the Out & the Gone will appeal to true Baraka fans; however, readers of mainstream lit may feel a bit lost with this read. As Baraka states in the story `A Little Inf'; "If this is hard to understand, I can understand."

Reviewed by M. P. McKinney
APOOO BookClub ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The System of Dante's Hell
I cannot speak for this entire book, but it seems to be the only way to obtain The System of Dante's Hell these days, and this is a truly great book and a must read.

The System of Dante's Hell is a short novel in which a black soldier travels through the American south. Like Dante in hell, Jones/Baraka's tour shows you this hell from the outside, but not really from the outside. Anyway, the book is brilliant. ... Read more

Amazon.com
This scintillating collection by Amiri Imamu Baraka, published in 1968 under his birth name Leroi Jones, covers a wide range of jazz writings from 1959 to 1967. Baraka's engaging and prophetic portraits of Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Bradford, Cecil Taylor, Thelonious Monk, Roy Haynes, Don Cherry, and John Coltrane (whom he called "the heaviest spirit") beam with an electric and fluid language that mirrors those artists' speed-of-light improvisations. In "Jazz and the White Critic," which blasts white critics who judge jazz by European, rather than African American, standards, Jones wrote, "As Western people, the sociocultural thinking of 18th-century Europe comes to us as history and legacy that is a continuous and organic part of the 20th-century West. The sociocultural philosophy of the Negro in America ... is no less specific and no less important for any intelligent critical speculation about the music that came out of it." His analysis of the burgeoning avant-garde scene in "Apple Cores #1-6," "New York Loft and Coffee Shop Jazz," and "The Jazz Avant-Garde" accurately depicts the artistic promise and peril of that period in the words of a literary genius who was there and helped create it. --Eugene Holley Jr. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Politics and Art
Too often, Baraka is critiqued for his artistry or his politics alone--with Black Music, the floor gets opened to anyone or everyone with an opinion on jazz or blues music.Black Music is Baraka's smart, personally charged account of the forms and culture inherent to black music, and thus its political value as a testament to a nation within a nation. Reading Baraka's intimate thoughts on such a personal subject should be the sole impetus for the reader.

OK but why all the hype?
After hearing Leroi Jones on Sunny Murray and the NYAQ's records, and reading little excerpts of some of his reviews in books on free jazz, I thought I'd pick this up and check it out.I did; it was OK; but not muchmore than OK. I felt like most of the information available here is readilyfound elsewhere, and that any new perspective he brings to the issues(meaning basically a black nationalist/radical one) is easily enoughvisible in other places--better to read Fanon or Malcolm X than to let thatmusic play in the background in a jazz book like this one. If that's yourtaste you might be better off with John Szwed's book on Sun Ra. This bookis OK though, and if you haven't already read a number of jazz books youmight find it fresh and interesting--I simply didn't. Well written though. ... Read more

Book Description
eulogies for James Baldwin, Miles Davis, many more ... Read more

Book Description
Word count: 461. ... Read more

Book Description

In the grand, narrative tradition of Gwendolyn Brooks and Edward Sanders, this riveting collection of poetic plays and photo-documentary poems exposes the human cost of corporate greed and gives voice to the growing crisis faced in communities across America.

"The several long poems that make up this book build into each other with devastating force and understatement, breaking poetic boundaries, regenerating the rich tradition of working-class literature."-Adrienne Rich

Mark Nowak is the author of the critically acclaimed debut book of poems Revenants, the editor of Xcp: Cross Cultural Poetics and the co-editor of Visit Teepee Town: Native Writings After the Detours. He grew up in Buffalo, New York and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he is active in the labor movement.

Customer Reviews (2)

Revolutionary Poet
Mark Nowak's poetry will astonish you. His docu-poetics blasts through the tired, middle-brow, bourgeois, self-absorbed poetry that you didn't even know you needed an antidote to. If you're already an old or new lefty, read this and cry and rejoice. If you're a reader of poetry and need something that will blow your mind, read this and burn your veil. If you've never liked poetry but have a conscience, believe in historical accuracy, and believe that people who earn a living by the work of their hands deserve economic and social justice, buy all of Mark Nowak's books and buy an extra one for a friend who needs a hero. Not only is Mark a tireless advocate, activist, and artist, he's a wonderful person and the hardest working poet you'll ever meet.

in trouble again
baraka is a writer who readily embraces change, and this book reflects a life full of changes beginning with something as fundamental as a change in name. ... Read more

Book Description
This collection of interviews with Amiri Baraka, the formerLeRoi Jones and a key figure in the worldwide black liberation movement,provides an extraordinary insight not only into African American literaturebut also into the turmoil and passions of the "black experience" during thesecond half of the twentieth century.

As they offer an understanding of the political turbulence of his times,these interviews provide special insights into Baraka's works, his anger,and his career. Not only does Baraka criticize and explain his mostcelebrated works, but also his comments supply a rich context forunderstanding the African American experience.

Throughout these candid conversations Baraka maintains his belief in thefirm alliance of art and social criticism. "To me, social commentary andart cannot be divorced. Art and life are the same: art comes out of life,art is a reflection of life, art is life."

Here is a collection that contains nearly all of the major interviews thispoet, playwright, fiction writer, essayist, and social activist has givenin his long and controversial career. Four of them have not been previouslypublished. Included here are interviews conducted by Maya Angelou, AustenClarke, and David Frost, as well as a new interview Baraka granted theeditor of this volume. ... Read more

Book Description
Poetry/American Literature ... Read more

Book Description
incl long out-of-print chapbooks, broadsides et al ... Read more

Book Description
A new collection of poems. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Moving and thought provoking
I was there when Baraka read this poem at the Dodge poetry festival, before the controversy. It is an incredibly moving and thought provoking poem.

It took a controversey to make anyone read this one
When this poem came out, there was a lot of controversy.Not only because of the content, but because New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey had named Amiri Baraka as the state's poet laureate shortly before, and the subsequent outrage over the poem prompted the state to rescind that title from Baraka.

Some believe Mr. Baraka (AKA Leroy Jones) was blaming the Jews in his poem "Somebody Blew Up America" for the 9-11 attack on the Twin Towers.After reading the poem, I understand Baraka's point that he was not blaming Jews, but rather ISRAELIS.

That being said, the only reason anyone bothered to read this book and its poems was because of the controversy.It's not a great of a read at all. ... Read more

Book Description
drama ... Read more