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| Amiri Baraka |
Amiri Baraka (born Everett LeRoi Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9,
2014), 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 (2002–03), 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.
Baraka received honors from a number of prestigious foundations,
including: fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National
Endowment for the Arts, the Langston Hughes Award from the City College of New
York, the Rockefeller Foundation Award for Drama, an induction into the
American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Before Columbus Foundation
Lifetime Achievement Award.
Amiri Baraka died on January 9, 2014, at Beth Israel Medical Center
in Newark, New Jersey, after being hospitalized in the facility's intensive
care unit for one month prior to his death. The cause of death was not reported
initially, but it is mentioned that Baraka had a long struggle with diabetes.
Later reports indicated that he died from complications after a recent surgery.
Baraka's funeral was held at Newark Symphony Hall on January 18, 2014.
Reference：wikipedia
