The Autobiography of Leroi Jones

Rating:
Summary: frankness, humor, self-examination ....
Review: Autobiographies, even by poets, rarely reach the depths of honest self-examination one finds in their poems. One has only to think of Kenneth Rexroth's tall stories or William Carlos Williams' evasions.

But Mr. Baraka's is different. His has been a journey from a middle class background in Newark (keeping in mind that it was not a white middle class), through Howard University's elitist social structure, the racism of the Air Force; his beginnings as a poet & his drift into Charles Olson's powerful gravity. Many of America's best white poets were among his friends & he did much to promote their careers along with his own. Then his turn toward leadership of the great Black Awakening of the Sixties, his move "uptown," his embrace of socialism & subsequent return to Newark where he continues to influence young writers & activists of all colors & ethnic backgrounds.

There are also his controversial plays, his feuds, marriages & arrests. Also his witnessing of the Newark Rebellion (the full deadly story never accurately reported in the press), his deep understanding of American culture & respect for authentic expression.

That's a lot to cover, but Baraka does so with frankness, humor, self-examination & an occasional willingness to admit error without loading up on pointless regrets.

A fine account of a fallible man who, even in his most angry moments, gives the world beautiful things. & that anger is usually over our failure to see the beauty of justice.

Bob Rixon, WFMU-FM