Amiri Baraka

Poet, Author

1934 – 2014

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Who was Amiri Baraka?

Amiri Baraka, formerly known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. He was the author of numerous books of poetry and taught at a number of universities, including the State University of New York at Buffalo and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He received the PEN Open Book Award, formerly known as the Beyond Margins Award, in 2008 for Tales of the Out and the Gone.

Baraka's poetry and writing has attracted both extreme praise and condemnation. Within the African-American community, some compare him to James Baldwin and call Baraka one of the most respected and most widely published Black writers of his generation. Others have said his work is an expression of violence, misogyny, homophobia and racism. Baraka's brief tenure as Poet Laureate of New Jersey, involved controversy over a public reading of his poem "Somebody Blew Up America?" and accusations of anti-semitism, and some negative attention from critics, and politicians.

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Born
Oct 7, 1934
Newark
Also known as
  • Everett LeRoi Jones
  • Baraka, Amiri
  • Imamu Baraka
  • Imamu Amiri Baraka
  • LeRoy Jones
Parents
Spouses
Children
Ethnicity
  • African American
Nationality
  • United States of America
Profession
Education
  • Columbia University
  • The New School
  • Howard University
  • Rutgers University
  • Barringer High School
Lived in
  • Newark
Died
Jan 9, 2014
Newark

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

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