Imamu Amir Barakat, Everett LeRoi Jones, LeRoi James, Amiri Baraka. No matter how one refers to him, it is impossible to think about mid twentieth century black history without mentioning him. Shown above is a part of Baraka’s first volume of poetry: “Preface to a Twenty-Volume Suicide Note”. Just from the title alone, I knew that his story would be one of heart, determination, and most importantly, contradiction. Just from the title alone “Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note”, a lot of ideas can be constructed about Baraka’s life during this time. Baraka was born Everett LeRoi Jones on October 7th, 1934 in Newark, New Jersey. His childhood was relatively uneventful when in context with this poem, and his interest in cultural dislocation didn’t spark until he transferred to Howard University in 1952 from Rutgers University where he had a scholarship, changing his name to LeRoi James. In 1954, he joined the US Air Force as a gunner, eventually reaching the rank of sergeant. However, he was later accused of being a communist and was discovered to have Soviet writings in his possession. In 1960, many rebellious artists, after Baraka …show more content…
Baraka wrote with passion and with the intent of having an impact on people’s lives. When talking about Baraka’s cool side, it is important to note that he was a major fan of Miles Davis growing up, a collectively understood very cool guy. Baraka being interested in jazz makes him that much cooler, as jazz takes focus, and when presenting, there must be no distractions or else the audience will not get the full effect of the performance. Writing poems and plays, this same notion applies. In “Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note” especially, if the reader is not focused and willing to search for deep meaning, then they simply will not gain anything by reading or watching