A photograph of Amiri Baraka, activist, poet, (Racist?)
and the photograph that spurred Abel Meeropol to write the poem "Strange Fruit" which was later song by Billie Holiday.
Notes on "Biography"
Another look at "Strange Fruit"
Below are the lyrics to Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit, 1939, written by Abel Meeropol, New Yorker, Jewish schoolteacher, American Communist:
Southern trees bear strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees
Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
The scent of magnolia sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh
Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck
for the rain to gather, for the wind to suck
for the sun to rot, for the tree to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop
In Walked Bud
(Listened to CD in-Class)
Audio File of "In Walked Bud"
When you go to Salon type the title of the poem in the search window.
http://www.salon.com/ent/audiofile/index.html?item=/ent/audiofile/2005/10/31/listens/index.html
Backstory on the Theolonius Monk Piece "In walked Bud " "As the musicians were packing up their instruments after the show, the police stormed the club and went after Monk. He refused to show his identification, and was forcibly arrested. A fan barred the door and challenged the officers. They tried to push him aside, but he wouldn't budge. 'Stop,' he yelled. 'You don't know what you're doing. You're mistreating the greatest pianist in the world!' At this point a nightstick came down on his head like a lightening bolt. The young fan was Monk's best friend, Bud Powell. He was dragged along with Monk, and thrown into jail after his injury was superficially treated at the hospital. After his release Powell complained of alarming headaches. He eventually checked into Bellevue Hospital, then spent three months in Creedmore Hospital. There he was treated with various psychoactive drugs and shock therapy. His artistic career had barely started, but henceforth he would be bedeviled by psychological problems. Monk was aware that Powell's intervention had saved him from a similar fate. For his ill-starred protege, he wrote 'In Walked Bud', '52nd Street Theme', and 'Broadway Theme', otherwise simply known as 'The Theme.' The numbers were intended to be Bud's property alone, and Monk never recorded them."
47 comments:
Biography
Amiri Baraka
Baraka was born LeRoi Jones in Newark, New Jersey. He began life in the more dominant part of society, he married a light skinned woman, and lived as if a member of the "white" society. He later divorced his wife and became intrested in the black revolution.
Basic Passage:
Hangs
hangs
Granddaddy
Granddaddy, they tore his neck.
This passage sounds full of pain. This entire poem gives you a sense of being there and how it must have felt to a see a loved one being so horribly murdered. It describes the picture on the front of the blog perfectly. He is very descriptive and puts you there so you can feel what they felt.
Corelate:
I can't really identify with this because I've never had to experience anything like this, it is very hard to comprehend what struggles went on during this time, unless you were there. It is also very hard for me to understand how people could have ever thought that this was O.K.. How could any human being be so cruel, and to just stand there and smile, it is so imhumane, and it just makes you want to ask what were you thinking??? How can they teach there children that such violence is good? Hate is a very hard concept for me to understand. I have been plenty angry at people in my life, but even as vengeful as I can be, I still could never enjoy watching another person be murdered.
1) The tradegy is the horrible way this person died, and the way people stood around and enjoyed the scene.
2) This could not be a comedy
3) There is no joy.
Difficulties
None
Biography
Amiri Baraka
Amiri Baraka was born LeRoi Jones in Newark, New Jersey. He graduated from High school and went to college at Howard University, and got a degree in English Literature. He served in the Air Force for two years. He taught at Columbia and at the New school, and he also wrote newspaper and magazine articles. In 1961 he published his first collection of poems.
Basic Passage:
Hangs.
Whipped
Blood
Striped
Meat pulled
Clothes ripped
Slobber
Feet dangled
This passage is so sad and sounds very painful. The entire poem was hard to read. I couldn’t imagine how much pain the families would go through. The picture on the blog really gives you a true feeling for what everyone went through, and how wrong it was. Baraka does a good job and really uses descriptive words to describe what is going on.
Correlate:
I can’t really identify with this passage, because I have never experienced anything this cruel. I grew up in a small town in Montana and I had no idea what lynching was until reading this poem. I find it very hard to understand why another human would want to do such a cruel thing to another human. In the picture it is so sad to see the people smiling and finding it okay to be so cruel. I consider myself a happy person and when someone conflicts anger or violence on someone else it makes me so mad. How can people find it okay to but there fingers on another person and hurt them, it is so wrong.
1.) The tragedy of the poem would be the terrible way this person had to die, and it is horrible to see the people standing around and smiling.
2.) I don’t think that this poem could be a comedy.
3.) I found no joy.
Difficulties
None
Amiri Braka
He was born LeRoi Jones in 1934, in Newark New Jersey. He attended Rutgers then transferred to Howard University. He graduated with a degree in English. He then joined the Air Force and was stationed in Puerto Rico. After being discharged he moved to New York and studied at Columbia University and received his M.A. in German Lit.
Basic Passage:
Who have the colonies
Who stole the most land
Who rule the world
Who say the good but only do evil
Who the biggest executioner
This passage is telling us who Baraka believes the "Who" are: The Government and its politcal leaders.
Correlate:
I can identify with this passage because I believe what he is saying is true. And if you don't believe what I am saying just anwser the question he is asking.
Who have the most colonies? The government and its leaders
Who stole the most land? The government and its leaders
Who rule the world? Surley its not me or you but the government and its leaders.
1)The tragedy is that we are the ones who elect these people to lead us.
2)The tragedy could be turned into a comedy if the entire collective of people in the world wanted to think for themselves instead of having some one do it for them. A person is smart. People are dumb, paniky, and stupid.
3)The joy in all of this would be hope. Hope that people would relize the problem and wise up not to make the same mistake.
Biography
Amiri Baraka
Born in New Jersey in 1934 as LeRoi Jones. Early writings were influnced by William Carlos Williams and Ezra Pound with quantitative verse later chaned to nonformal, notraditional with his growing interest in the black revolution.
Basic Passage
"red
bleeds
drips
ground"
I think he is trying to relate this to the African Americans of that time. The blood dripping is representitive of life slowly wasting away from black people because of racism and the lack of basic rights, such as protection from lynchings.
Coorelate
With out these equal rights people begin to feel like less of a person and begin to lose hope that their life will amount to more than their fathers or his fathers.
I think where Baraka says blood drops could also mean life wastes away before things finally started to change.
Tragedy-- A person dies.
How can tragedy be turned into a comedy-- Could become a comedy if it never happened.
Comedy-- None.
Difficulties--
I understand why it happened--because some people are tremendously cruel and evil. I don't understand why it took so long to be stopped. Wasn't this illegal!!!
Biography
Author: Amiri Baraka
He was born LeRoi Jones, NewJersey. He recieved a degree in English Literature. He married a light skinned wome and lived as a white man. He later joined the black revolution and divorced his wife.
Basic Passage:
Churns
face
black sky
and moon
leather night
This passage is filled full with very discriptive words. This story puts a very bad image into my head, and I am sure who ever reads this story feels the same when I say that it leaves a very bad feeling.
Correlate:
I could not relate to this passage. I don't think anyone in this day and age can even describe that kind of experince. All I can say about about missing out on those days is, THANK YOU!!!!!! What I don't undestand is how does the children sleep at night. The parents bcak then must have brainwashed them because it doesn't phase them a bit. I know if was walking down the street today and I saw some one hanged in the tree, I would have a heart attack. I am glad i wasn't brought up in all of that.
1)The tradegy of the poem would be the way those people were killed and the discriptive words the poem uses.
2)There could not be a comedy in this poem.
3)there is no joy in this poem.
Biography
Amiri Baraka
Amiri Baraka, formerly known as LeRoi Jones, was born in 1934 in
Newark, New Jersey. He received a degree in English Literature from Howard University. He later served in the Air Force for two years, and married a light skinned woman.
He later divorced her after becoming interested in the Black Revolution.
Basic Passage:
Hangs,
whipped
blood
striped
meat pulled
clothes ripped
This passage amazes me because each line is only one word, but you can still imagine the whole scene. The words he uses are very powerful and allow the reader to imagine the pain and suffering.
Correlate:
I cannot personally relate to this because I have never experienced anything like it. It is like a reminder of the past mistakes that have been made, and the pain that others have went through.
1. The murder and death
2. No comedy
3. No joy
Difficulties
None
I’m sorry
Amiri Baraka
Biography
Amiri Baraka was born LeRoi Jones. He earned a degree in English literature from Howard University. He served two years in the Air Force, and saw exotic locales such as Puerto Rico. He eventually studied at Columbia University were he received an M.A. in German literature. He later became a part of the “black revolution.” His poetry shows considerable influence from that culture.
Basic Passage
feet dangled
pointing
noised
noise
churns
This passage, to me, shows the motion of the crowd in relation to the motion of the hanged man. As the feet dangle and sway, so does the movement of noise run through the crowd like a current. The crowd churns as a moving body; like the churning of a hanging body.
Correlate:
This is in no way the same thing, however the closest experience I could think of to relate this poem to would any time I have not allowed myself to speak to someone because I thought they were different. I try to be a good person, but sometimes I forget to not judge a person who is considered “weird” by the standards of my social group. I, as we all have, excluded or even shunned a person I have found to be too different. I would not go as far to lynch and hang them, but I have judged someone because they were not like me.
1.) tragedy: Over the centuries of human civilization, we could not find a way to exist in peace with out prejudice.
2.) comedy: Small-minded people feeling like they have rid the world of “a great evil.”
3.) joy: during that time in history the photo would be a source of pride, now in 2007, the same picture causes revulsion.
response to doppler
I totally agree.
Who make money from war
Who make dough from fear and lies
Who want the world like it is
Who want the world to be ruled by
imperialism and national
oppressiona nd terror violence, and hunger and poverty.
I have not seen a dollar from any war, but let's examine who has.
Biography
Amiri Baraka
Amiri Baraka was born in Newark, New Jersey. He became a member of the black Panthers. This was a militant movement to give rise to power of African Americans. He did not always feel this way at first he followed the dominant culture and married a light skinned woman and wrote poems that reflected the dominant culture.
Basic passage:
Hangs
hangs
Granddaddy
Granddaddy, they tore his neck.
Hangs.
Whipped
Blood
Striped
Meat pulled
Clothes ripped
Slobber
Feet dangled
When I read this passage it filled me with hatred and disgust. It just amazes me that a group of people could be that vicious and malicious. It just reinforces the evil that "white" people do. Throughout history they have been known to be some of the most devious and deceitful people in the world. I just don't even like to read and discuss things like this poem because I have "white" friends and it makes me mad at their ancestors and it sometimes includes them. So lets just say this that "white" peoples ancestors are the devil and will one day destroy or enslave all of us.
correlate:
I can not really correlate this to anything that I have experienced because I did not have to go through it but it does remind me of the people the "white" people say they are not and the things they try so hard to forget. I will never forget and never will the people like the native Americans. They just try to give you affirmative action to try to smooth the whole thing over so you will say oh they are not that bad but no matter what government programs come out I will never forger and nor will African Americans as a race of people.
The tragedy in this peom is how "white" people found celebration and joy in the killing of innocent African Americans.
There is no joy in this peom.
How could you make this a comedy if all of a sudden all the white people took off there masks and they were black and the people hanging were "white".
Biography
Amiri Baraka
Amiri Baraka was born LeRoi Jones in Newark, New Jersey in 1934. He was well known as a beat writer of the 1950's. Jones early poetry shows traits of the dominant part of society. However, Baraka's growing interest in the black revolution of the 1960's has made his later poetry increased with black pride.
(Basic Passage)
Hangs.
whipped
blood
striped
meat pulled
clothes ripped
slobber
feet dangled
This passage describes a sinster hanging. The vivid description of the passage describes the brutally of pure racism. This passage describes the pain that black people felt before dying from being lynched. This passage also makes a strong point to the reader about the consquences of racism, which can be deadly. The picture in the blog makes me very sad and angry at how people could do such a thing to other people on the basis of skin color. The laughter on the children faces makes me depressed because this means that racism and lynching would be in the future.
(Correlation)
I really can't identify with this injustice, because I was lucky to be have born in a different time. But as a African American this just make me so sick. To be honest this is something that I don't want to identify with. I truly believe that those so called christians back in those days, probably went to HELL.
1. The tragedy of this story is that someone is getting murdered because of their skin color.
2.The tragedy in this poem can't be turned into a comedy.
3. Their is no joy or happiness.
(Difficulties)
There was no difficulties.
Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones)
“In Memory of Radio”
Biography:
Amiri Baraka was born LeRoi Jones in Newark, New Jersey. At first he was a “white” man who conformed to the dominant culture. After befriending Malcolm X and other activists, he became “black” and divorced his light skinned wife. He was named Poet Laureate of New Jersey, until he released “Somebody Blew up America” which was viewed as anti-Semitic. His title of Poet Laureate was then taken away.
Basic Passage:
& Love is an evil word.
Turn it backwards/see, see what I mean?
An evol word. & besides
Who understands it?
I certainly wouldn’t like to go out on that kind of limb.
This is a simple passage on Baraka’s feelings on love. He is looking at the negative side of love which many people often do, especially when they are just getting out of a bad relationship.
Correlation:
I can easily relate to this passage. I just got out of a long term relationship and I currently have this same feeling on love. I believe that love is actually a good thing, and everyone needs it in their life. But when getting out of a long term relationship most people feel the same way Baraka does in this poem. It is hard to stay consistent in how you feel about love.
1.) Identify the cause of human suffering - Tragedy: Baraka’s negative feelings of love. It’s pretty obvious he has been in a bad relationship.
2.) How can the tragedy be turned into a comedy? Personally I think this poem is funny in its own right. Love is easy to poke fun at.
3.) Identify the cause of joy or happiness- Comedy: Everyone at some time or another can relate to his feelings. And sometimes we joke about love.
Difficulty:
This poem goes all over the place; it is very random.
TITLE: Somebody Blew Up America
BY: Amiri Baraka
BACKGROWND: Amiri Baraka was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1934. He was formaly known as LeRon Jones. He attended Rutgers and Howard University. He later joined the black panthers and wrote poems about society through his eyes.
BASIC PASSAGE:
Who made Bush president
Who believe the confederate flag need to be flying
Who talk about democracy and be lying
Who the Beast in Revelations
Who 666
Who know who decide
Jesus get crucified
Who the Devil on the real side
Who got rich from Armenian genocide
Who the biggest terrorist
Who change the bible
Who killed the most people
Who do the most evil
Who don't worry about survival
Who have the colonies
Who stole the most land
Who rule the world
Who say they good but only do evil
Who the biggest executioner
Who? Who? Who?
Who own the oil
Who want more oil
Who told you what you think that later you find out a lie
Who? Who? Who?
Who found Bin Laden, maybe they Satan
Who pay the CIA,
Who knew the bomb was gonna blow
Who know why the terrorists
Learned to fly in Florida, San Diego
CORELATE: I cant identify with Baraka, but I understand were he is coming from. He is tring to say that America blew up America. He spesificly points his finger to the government to say that Bush had a hand in helping along with the elected officials of the country. I agree with Baraka on many of his views written in this poem abouth the government and their involvment with nine eleven.
THE CAUSE OF HUMAN SUFFERING: The cause of human suffering was the lack of understanding that the nations government failed to keep the homeland safe which caused countless deaths of inocent Americans.
HOW CAN THE TRAGETY BE TURNED INTO A COMEDY: this couldn't be a comedy
THE CAUSE OF HAPPYNESS: There is no happiness.
“Amiri Baraka”
He was born as LeRoi Jones, but in 1966 he move returned Newark, New Jersey in his home town and became Imamu Amiri Baraka as a leader in the African culture center. He taught at Columbia and at the New School, wrote newspaper and magazine articles, and in 1961 he published his first collection of poems. In his early years, Baraka was only concern with the white society, but as he got older, married, and divorced he turned to black power.
Basic Passage:
laughs
bonnets
wolfman
crazyteeth
hangs
hangs
granddaddy
granddaddy, they tore
his
neck
“Why is HATRED a WORD?”
Correlation:
This whole poem is filled with so much hatred. It just shows how bad things were back in the days. Most people are afraid to speak of what happen, and how their ancestors acted (black and white). I know it brings some terrible feelings back in the air to be discussed, but this was a part of life. Lets think where we would be if Jesus would not been pinned to the cross for our sins. His people must have been terrified to see him in so much pain.
I can not imagine the pain that the girl in poem must have been going through while watching her grandpa being brutally murdered. She was in the situation where she could not do anything about it, and had to watch the people around her be so HAPPY about him being hung. The pain she was feeling while her heart probably was being torn to pieces and having to watch people enjoy something so terrible is hard to imagine. There is probably someone in todays society that has to watch a love one suffer in the hospital. I could not watch someone suffer. I would not watch at all if being murdered or just for them to go ahead and die if they were suffering.
1. The girl in the story was suffering from having to watch her granddaddy die such a horrible death.
2. There was no comedy
3. I do not think it could be turned into a comedy
mad at the world
Amiri Baraka
Somebody Blew Up America
Barka was born Le Rio Jones in Newark, New Jersey. He was a educated man who sought to duplicate William Carlos Williams "quantitative verse". Later he became interested in the Black Revolution and this swaded his poetry toward a nontraditionalform. Rebeling against the "white" tradition. He now sought to write with a clear "revoltionary edge.
Basic passage
Who own the suburbs
WHo suck the cities
Who make the lwas
Who made Bush president
In this passage Baraka is attacking the goverment and pointing the finger at all the polititions and white aristocrats for all the horrible things they have condoned inthe past. Then he attacks the people or voters with his next line " who made Bush president".
Correlate
I relate to this passage because I feel that parts of the government are in deed corupt. And that it is up to the people to take action for what they belive in not what is dictated to them by the majority. Baraka with his quick tongue makes you as an indivual take a hard look at your self and your actions . Are you doing all that can be done to make the world a better place ? It always has to start some where this is how revolitions happen some one is willing to step out awya from the norm.
The trgedy is that Baraka is all negative. He only sees the past evils of society. He fails to see that with the actions of indiviuals groups are formed and changes are made. For example many thind=gs that were excepted then are now illegal.
This could be changed to a comedy if Barka could rerlease his anger and move past it and live in the now.
I see no happiness or joy in this poem only anger.
Diff
It was a bit harsh, however the truth usually is.
Biography
Amiri Baraka was born as LeRoi Jones in Newark, New Jersey. He went to Howard University and graduated with a degree in english. His works are known for being racist.
Basic Passage
Who made Bush president
Who believe the confederate flag need to be flying
Who talk about democracy and be lying
Correlate:
After reading Baraka's poem "Somebody Blew Up America" he sounds very racist. It doesn't make sense that he can hate white people for being racist against black people when he is more racist against white people than most whites are against blacks! I found his poems difficult to read because they are very offensive and not enjoyable at all in my mind. The passage I chose it sounded like he was saying Americans (more specifically southerners in this passage) were to be blamed for 9/11. But it is obvious he is referring to 'white' americans. I don't understand his reasoning at all. It seems like he is trying to 'justify' his hatred towards the race by pointing fingers. I have a hard time relating to any of this at all. I am not racist nor do I feel any hatred like he does. I don't blame anyone in America for 9/11. Sure, maybe it could have been predicted better but it obviously wasn't and I'm sure if they had known something they would've tried to prevented it. I blame hatred of America by the terroist group for 9/11, just like the hatred Baraka is full of for people unlike himself.
1) The tragedy is Baraka's hatred.
2) Baraka tries to make the poem comedic but the ridicoulousness/offensive of it all overlaps that.
3) No joy.
Biography
Amiri Baraka
Amiri Baraka, whose birth name is LeRoi Jones, was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1934. Baraka graduated from high school, attended Rutgers University, and later transferred to Howard University. He got interested in the black revolution and changed his poetry writing style.
Basic Passage
"... black sky
and moon
leather night
red
bleeds
drips...
laughs
bonnets
wolfmoon
crazyteeth..."
This passage describes the horrible and gruesome lynching scene. Baraka's description explains in detail the scene in the picture on the blog's home page. His description allows us to see the "red blood dripping" from these two men's brutally beaten bodies and hear the non remorseful "laughs" coming from the members of the lynch mob which included women based on the term "bonnets" in the poem.
Correlate
Even though I'm a Southerner, I can't identify with this passage because I have never experienced a horrible situation like this. But, I ask these questions: How can people hate, beat, and kill others just because they have a different skin color? How can people have so much cruelity in their hearts? I believe that it's inhumane to beat, kill, or mistreat anyone period. It takes a soulless person to committ a brutal crime against another.
(1). Identify the cause of human suffering- Tragedy
The cause of human suffering in this passage is the cruel and gruesome way the two men died and the non remorseful way the lynch mob behaved.
(2). How can the tragedy be turned into a comedy?
The tragedy can't be turned into a comedy.
(3). Identify the cause of joy or happiness- Comedy
There is no joy or happiness.
Difficulties
I didn't have any difficulties.
BIOGRAPHY
Amiri Baraka
Born as LeRoi Jones in Newark, New Jersey, Amiri Bakara graduated from Howard University, where he recieved his degree in English Literature. He then recieved an M.A. in German Literature at Columbia University. In 1961, he published his first collection of poems, PREFACE TO A TWENTY VOLUME SUICIDE NOTE.
Basic Passage:
Hangs.
whipped
blood
striped
meat pulled
clothes ripped
slobber
feet dangled
pointing
noised
noise
churns
face
black sky
and moon
leather night
red
bleeds
drips
ground
sucks
blood
hangs
life wetting
sticky
mud
laughs
bonnets
wolfmoon
crazy teeth
When first reading this passage, I felt a sickening turn in my stomach. Not just because of the actual hanging, but because of the laughter and joy people had, to see a man tortured.
Correlation:
I can not correlate this passage with my life, and I can't even imagine the fear and pain that African Americans had to go through at that time. I am blessed to live in the society that I live in now, or that could be my father or brother on that tree.
The tragedy is the hate in the people's heart who lynched these people. The tragedy is the people's lives that were taken away for a cheap thrill.
This could be turned into a comedy if... Umm... I really can't think of anything funny.
The joy of this story was the people who were doing the lynching and the great amusment they found out of the whole event.
Biography
Amiri Baraka
Born in New Jersey in 1934 as LeRoi Jones. Early writings were influnced by William Carlos Williams and Ezra Pound with quantitative verse later chaned to nonformal, notraditional with his growing interest in the black revolution.
Basic Passage:
Hangs.
whipped
blood
striped
meat pulled
clothes ripped
slobber
feet dangled
The hanus acts that went on during this time was absolutely ridiculous.It shows how ignorant,hippocrate "Christians" mainly in south treated black people.It was as if though they were animals in a slaughter house.
Correlate:
I don't think I could have lived in these time because they probably would have killed me real quick because I'm a rebel.All of the things that were done to minorities at this time would have been a total 360 because I would have made a black klan and it would have just been one big war!!!
1. The tragedy is the way blacks were treated and killed for no damn reason.
2. Comedy? I think not!
Response to nicken
I completely agree with your viewpoints on this poem. It is impossible to truly relate to what these people are feeling, but it is really hard to see how any of this could be "right" or part of a "normal" life.
I am commenting on almond joy's response:
I agree with almond joy's response. Baraka's word choice allows us to visually and audibly witness the lynching of these two men. It makes us feel like we're there seeing and feeling what Baraka is describing in the passage. I agree with almond joy's statement "... that it leaves a very bad feeling."
Somebody Blew up America
Amiri baraka
Amiri Baraka born LeRoi Jones in newark,new jersey in 1934. he graduated with a degree in english from howard university. he then went onto serve in the airforce for two years. later on he went back to new york were he became part of the "black revolution".
passage
"Who got fat from plantations
Who genocided Indians
Tried to waste the Black nation
Who live on Wall Street
The first plantation
Who cut your nuts off
Who rape your ma
Who lynched your pa
Who got the tar, who got the feathers
Who had the match, who set the fires
Who killed and hired
Who say they God & still be the Devil
Who the biggest only
Who the most goodest
Who do Jesus resemble
Who created everything
Who the smartest
Who the greatest
Who the richest
Who say you ugly and they the goodlookingest"
correlate:
unlike barakas other poem "biography" which is so full of pain, this poem is so full of hate, and blame. its pretty much an explanation for all the hate toward white people. the entire poem is completely negative. i cant really relate to this passage in terms of hating people, but i can relate by how hate can become all encompassing toward something after a certain point. i feel that whatever the reason, hate is still downfall in the end.
tragedy: barakas hate, and lack of resolve.
how can it be turned into a comedy:
baraka could have focused more on the way thing are changing and not so much on the past.
comedy: definetly no comedy.
I have no problems with the passage, it is as simple an staight foward as possible. and as for his opinions, he is entitled to them.
This is in response to incog-Negro
I think you are sounding very sterotypical. I am sure that not every "white" person was apart of the lynchings. This was evil people, people of the KKK, people with no idea of wrong and right, it can not be said that all white people were members of the KKK. I am sure that a vast majority may have been, but there were quite a few "white" people that were decent and did not participate. Saying that all White people do evil would be like someone saying that all black people are thugs or deal drugs and live in the projects. It is this type of stereotypical behavior that created racism in the first place.
Amiri Baraka
Biography
Amiri Baraka was born as LeRoi Jones. He grew up in Newwark, NJ and attended college there also. Baraka embraced black nationalism, but later became a Marxist. His writings, dealing with death, suicide, racial seperation, and politics, were influenced by his ideals of black power.
Basic Passage:
"blood
striped
meat pulled
clothes ripped
slobber"
There just a few words in this passage, but I feel like this passage leaves the most vivid picture in your mind. He must have been a young boy when he witnessed his grandfather's lynching. The way he writes it, with just descriptive words with no added text, is like how a child would remember it. At the time, when he saw this, he probably didn't know what to think and couldn't form the words to tell about it. He was just left with the horrifying images he saw. Each line in the poem depict these images.
Correlate:
Baraka writes of his personal experience as a child. I think we have all had experiences in our life at one point that tramatized us or just simply hurt us. And maybe in those experiences we didn't really know what to do or what to think of it. The only thing that you can remember are the things you saw when that experience happened. I can relate in a way. When something bad happened to me, it was so bad that I really couldn't find the words to express it, and if I did try, it would probably come out like Baraka's poem.
1)The tragedy is that we had to witness something so tramatic.
2)It could be turned into a comedy if maybe someone stopped the hanging.
3)There was no joy.
Difficulties:
None
Comment for Nicken:
I thought the poem gave you a sense of how it felt also. His words are few, but they are really intense. I also agree with you comment to Incog-Negro.
Comment to Nicken:
I agree with you that the passage is full of pain. It is so sad to see what the families had to go through. I also thought that Baraka uses very descriptive words that put you in the scene, so you could feel the pain that the families had to go through. It was very sad and wrong. I also agree with your comment to Incog-Negro, you made a very clear point with your comment!
Comment for nicken
I completly agree with you he has a gift for imagery with words. It really makes the picture that much worse. I would have hated to live in those days.
Biography
Amiri Baraka was born LeRoi Jones in Newark, New Jersey. He married a light skinned woman immersing himself into white society. However, he later divorced his wife and joined the black revolution serving as a leader of Spirit House, an African cultural center.
Basic Passage
Laughs
Bonnets
Wolfmoon
Crazyteeth
Correlate
To me this passage is about how this person is viewing this horrible torture death and it’s just driving them crazy. I’ve been in a situation where just something terrible is happening and the only way I can find to express my fear is through laughter. It is such an inappropriate response but it’s the only way my brain knows how to cope with the shock. Because of this people think I’m crazy to be laughing at such a horrible incident. I think the comment “wolfmoon/crazyteeth” expresses this idea of going crazy at what’s happening.
The tragedy of this poem is the fact that the person has to view such a horrific event and their body’s inability to cope with the shock of it
I don’t see how this could be turned into a comedy
I also couldn’t find any joy
This is a comment to moonlight
I agree that this happpens bc people join as a collective group and are afraid to stand up until injustice. If just one person stood up, perhaps things would be different
Amiri Baraka
"Biography"
Things lost
He was born in 1934 as LeRoi Jones in Newark, New Jersey. He attended Rutgers University, then attended Howard University. He served in the armed forces. He became a strong Black power advocate. He wrote many plays, poems, and essays, such as 'The slave' and 'The Systems of Dante's Hell". He influenced many writers.
Basic Passage:
"Striped
Meat pulled
Clothes ripped"
This passage is very painful to me. To me it is more than just death. There are things worse than death. It is the scares that they leave behind.
Correlate:
To be humiliated and treated as an animal that was hunted. To be stripped of your own self worth and your soul being pulled back like meat. Those three lines remind me of someone being brutally raped. They never recover from the physical and mental scares, and I have been there.
Difficulties:
None
I don't see any comedy in this story.
This is a tragedy. No one should be treated in this way.
There is no joy.
Response to Almond Joy:
I disagree with the fact that it was mentioned that this does not happen anymore. I believe that it happens all the time, but not just to african americans. It happens to any one that is judge on their skin, relegion or sexual preferance.
I am responding to doppler's blog...
I agree with the fact that we are the people who elect these officials to lead us, and they are the ones who have the most colonies, who stole the most land,
and who rules the world. Basicly we are the people who blew up America because of our leaders that are in power.
Amiri Baraka
In 1966, when he was 32, he returned to Newark to serve as a leader, known as Imamu Amiri Baraka, of spirit House, an african culture center.For two years, he served in the Air Force, stationed much of the time in Puerto Rico. Also, he taught at Columbia and at the New School, wrote newspaper and magazine articles, and in 1961 he published his first collection of poems, Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note.
Basic Passage
Grandaddy
Grandaddy, they tore
his
neck
This passage is very graphic and shows excitement in the little girl's voice, as if she were intrigued. By the girl's attitude, it just proves how different their socity was than today's. Is as if this lynching was totally accepted by society during this time.
Corelate
I cannot fathom the little girl's excitement in her voice as she is saying something as disturbing as this passage. In today's society, lynching would never be accepted, matter of fact it would be looked down upon. It is almost like this man's life eas just taken for granted who was being lynched. The little girl shows that she was so numb and use to things like this happening during this time.Altogether, I just think this was very dsturbing and made me full of suprise that such a thing was so excited, almost like entertainment for others.
1.) The tragedy of this poem is the fact that poeple's lives were treated as if they were animals. Also, the fact of dying like that is just so unfathomable.
2.) This poem absolutely could not be turned into a comedy.
3.)I feel like this was everything Joy is not.
Difficulties:
None
In response to Bham615:
I think you brought up a good point. I agree when you said that the only way to deal with fearful situations, sometimes, is to laugh and be dramatic about teh situation. In a way I think the little girl is kindof describing this lynched man, as if she were describing a horror movie, as well. It really does sound like she's making light if this horrific situation.
Response to Chloe:
I agree with her correlation when she was saying that Baraka's poem is pointing fingers as white southerners in America. It seems to me that he needs to take a step back, take a look and realize where he was born, in America(the land of opportunities). I think he himself needs to go to Iraq and fight for our country. Americans didn't cause 9/11, americans died in 9/11. I bet if he had some one that died he would feel differently.
In response to nicken
I full agree with you that this passage in the poem Biography is full of pain. I have also been angry at people, but I would never try to murder them. Society sometimes have to get a whole on itself before it leads to utter chaos.
In response to Incog-Negro's comment and in agreement with Nicken's comment.
"How could you make this a comedy if all of a sudden all the white people took off there masks and they were black and the people hanging were "white"."
Ok... how can you say that white people are wrong for being racist when what you just wrote is very racist in itself.
"It just reinforces the evil that "white" people do. Throughout history they have been known to be some of the most devious and deceitful people in the world. I just don't even like to read and discuss things like this poem because I have "white" friends and it makes me mad at their ancestors and it sometimes includes them."
How can you seriously blame white people for something their ancestor's did? And surely not ALL of white people's ancestors killed black people. That is so stereotypical. I believe it's stereotypes like this from the "african americans" that keep racism alive. I think everyone should just MOVE ON. You can't blame white people NOW for something people they don't even know did back then. I don't know any white people who feel guiltly for what happened back then, why should they? We weren't the ones who hung people. Some people who just happened to be the same color did. Not the whole race. It scares me how some (and I'm not saying all, just a choice few) African americans think it's OK for them to be racist because they were 'victimized'. White people are victimized too. The Black Panthers did exist! I think it's ironic how someone can post a racist comment like that to a reading response for a racist author.
Response to Chloe:
I feel that you made a great point. In Baraka placing the blame on another group seems racist in itself, and I don't feel that a certain group was responsible for 9/11.
Response to Addicted2Christ
I agree that it is hard to relate this poem to my life too. I never saw these things in real life and thank God I didn't. It's hard enough to see the pictures and the hatred. It's hard to imagine the pain people had to go throught to get to where we are today.
comment on nicken
There is a lot of pain in this poem and you can feel the terrifying hurt from this writer. He really brings out the emotion and its like you can see the blood on the paper.
comment on nicken
There is a lot of pain in this poem and you can feel the terrifying hurt from this writer. He really brings out the emotion and its like you can see the blood on the paper.
comment on nicken
There is a lot of pain in this poem and you can feel the terrifying hurt from this writer. He really brings out the emotion and its like you can see the blood on the paper.
This is a comment to Addicted2Christ
I feel the same way. The pain and horrible things the blacks had to go through during that time is hard to even think about. I think we should all be able to leave the angry feelings in the pass, but be able to talk about things that happened to our ancestors. We should all be very THANKFUL we live in today’s society…..
in response to roberto.
biogrphy
i agree with what you say about these images to a child. words to describe the gruesome images dont need any embellishing either. i think they would be it same for an adult as well. i can imagine recalling any event like this one in words would only need to be simple for the feeling to be described in whole.
In response to Nicken
I too feel sickened with disgust after reading this poem. Nicken stated in the the response I too couldn't imagine what it would be like to see someone you know and love murdered in cold blood. I felt the same pain that the narrator felt and I was saddened by the things that are described in the passage.
In response to Nicken
I can't imagine or comprehend living in this time period either. You think that people would have a hard time watching another human being suffer to death and there's no way everyone in the lynch mob agreed with what was happening, they just went along with the group out of fear of being different like the minorities were.
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