Amiri Baraka

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-- Baraka's career merits close attention because of the inherent fascination in observing the evolution of a major talent in the arts, and also to witness the manner in which a creative person acutely sensitive to his environment responds to changing stimuli in the world around him and seeks to change that world to reflect his own evolving weltanschauung . In the 1960s, the black poet-dramatist shed his white wife, his ``slave'' name, and his Greenwich Village residence to move uptown to Harlem both physically and spiritually. There he became an ardent exponent of black supremacy. His creative work became stridently anti-white, as Baraka despaired of any possibility of blacks being able to realize their potential in a world dominated by whites. In the 1970s, he turned Marxist-Leninist-Maoist and returned to the idea of working together with like-minded whites to accomplish desired goals. Bernotas has done creditable work in outlining the major themes of Baraka's public life as a figure of action and influence. He is less successful in his critical exploration of Baraka's poems and plays. His book, however, is well worth purchasing. --Norman Lederer, Thaddeus Stevens State School of Technology, Lancaster, PA