https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/files/original/765d1a96fc45f6e496c65ea345a6fb4a.pdf 667aefd9aa03a6c16f629f8ba060408e PDF Text Text INTRODUCTION: CHAPTER I-BLACK POETRY: 11 ••• VIEWS, VISIONS, CONFLICTS the double obligation of being both Negro and American is not so unified as we are often led to believe." -- Countee Cullen In recent years, Black American poetry has emerged from what appears to have been its assigned position as an illegitimate--sometimes embarrassing--child of American literature into an official flower in the garden of world writing. Everywhere Afro-American poetry is being vigorously read, listened to and imitated. Disc jockeys on Black-oriented radio stations quip: "Often imitated but never duplicated 11 --assuring their listeners that the ttsouln or 11 heirloom 11 of their tradition is alive, well, and locked in ancestral safe~deposit boxes. However a silent reading of the DJ•s casually delivered quip belies the charismatic power and verbal dexterousness in "how" it is said. But, in Black poetry-, · the "how" is always important and will be one of the cornerstones of the discussions in this book. To say that Black poetry is read or heard all over the world is not to say that it is studied in equitable proportion to other poetry. Indeed the recent rash of anthologies and individual collections, and the re-issuing gf previously published volumes, suggest that a vast literary vacuum has existed. The flood of publications, coupled with the appearance of new Black and other ethnic publishing houses, makes this vacuum glarin~ly, paradox1 �ically obvious. The absence of Black poetry (or Black literature) courses from English departments and at predominantly white colleges and public schools is ignominiously aided and abetted by the culpable negligence at many predominantly Black learning centers-where, for example, students are exposed to Walt Whitman, W.B. Yeats, T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg, Marianne Moore ~ and Edith Sitwell;but they receive no instructi. ons in the works of Paul Laurence Dunbar, Jean Toomer, Melvin B. Tolson, Owen Dod- son, Robert Hayden, Gwendolyn Brooks and Margaret Walker. One could go on, of course, reciting the cultural and literary negligence so officially a part of the academic and grants-in-aid patterns. However, the purpose here is to explore the vast richness of Black poetical and mythical life. II Black poetry presents many frustrations, challenges and problems. Instructors preparing to teach the subject must be aware of the many pitfalls, not the least among them the tendency of teacher and student alike to stray from the "study" of the poetry into political and rhetorical catharses. "Black" is a political word and to study or teach any aspect of the come embroiled in 2 Black Experience is to be- �es controversy and burdened with sociopolitical stressK That thin line between the ideological implications of a poem and those ntrial. scenes n :ti2 ~hich individuals(particulariy· in classrooms) find ---.-. Atbemselves victim is a line walked by all teachers and students of the Black Experience. In approaching Black poetry, then, one must nset" the atmosphere by dealing, from the outset, with substantive background materials~ the deepest philosophical, religious, ethical, artistic and aesthetic tenets of' Black life and expression. a purpose intent of this text Thus/the is to examine the scope and range of Black poetry via folk origins, methods of delivery, language, phonology, religiosity, racial character, recurring themes, individual and group identity, and poetic devices as they are developed indigenously or borrowed from other poetic traditions. III Like all bodies of writing, Black literature stems from a folkloristic trunk, making the job of teacher or student twofold: one) to deal with the great and complex storehouse of folk materials and themes; and two) to explore the chronological development of Black poetry--from about 1746 to the ClPopi,i 10n . differences;;. among scholars RblJ{,l t begin~ where,....,.----._ the study of Black written poetry/\ For present. There are m 1nor' example, in The Poetry of the Negro, Hughes and Bontemps begin with Lucy Terry's nBars Fight,n the account of an Indian massacre o..t.hV$elli in Deerfield, MassA' in 1746. The Negro Caravan ( 2:en :tnolJLaes,e 3_ �edited by Brown, Davis and Lee) omits tbe Terry poem. Caravan was f'irst issued in 1941 while 1h:e. l?-.Q.etry a P Poe~y sec.Ttbn 1b._Qfl~~~ was published in 1949. CGtY"0-\/0..Y{s ~-A begins :: ,_ witb Phillis Wheatley who f'irst published poetry in 1770. Also omitted f'rom Caravan is the work of' Jupiter Hammon whose poetry was published in broadside in 1760. In Calvacade (Negro American Writing from 1160 to the f;c~seq,~), published in 1970 and edited by Davis. and Redding, neither Terry nor Hammon appear and the poetry section begins with Phillis Wheatley. Early Black American Poets (Robinson) acknowledges Terry but Johnson's The Book of American Negro ~~vl l.A.v~r,c.e Poetry opens with~Dunbar. Kerlin's Negro Poets and their Poems (1923) makes no mention of either "Bar's Fight" or its author; but Dudley Randall's The Black Poets {1971) r\owe.veV\ include~ the poem. ,v~\.s tw :11:e, a random survey from the dozens /Vici 1f4.1e of general and specialized anthologies S, " that "-\ many teachers of Black poetry begin with Phillis Wheatley despite the fact that at least two Black poets were writing before her • L ' . - . . - . • 4 . r �usn••• :wop 11 JP IJ ;ggp 91111 P 15Hd5¥5sr ¥a b:eak LE c kizba2toal Js:stcpss s en IC J &l El 73 1/@ne of the main f'ea.'tv""es - of this 3I 8 ts I &i.: PII• i J a.yi(k.Ly sis Will be the study of related and integral forms of expression such as folksongs, spirituals, blues, jazz, rhythm & blues and what is known today as soul music.J ......--------------_,, tiowever, the Black Experience is complex ~ and frustrating. 1 ~ At each juncture in the study of the poetry, wad1n~ o.nd i+i"'t for example, oneAtegching it will meet difficulties ?111S1at1•~may • Ml I b seem insurmountable. Some of these difficulties will be presented in familiar questions: Is a poet considered Black if be writes consistently--or temporarily--out of the "white" experience? l. Can a Black poet really record Black experiences Most attempts to define the Black Experience have failed. When one considers the cross-fertilization of folk and literary culture in this country, together with the existence of hybrid cultures all over Latin America and other parts of the world, the term "Black Experience" does indeed d!.e(::y hooT definitio{. It is hoped, however, that through~continual return to the idea of the Black Experience (and discussion of Black life), the complexity and range of the term can be appreciated (also see bibliography}. 5 �and .feelings in English? Can a white poet write a Black poem (like the white musician who has developed a 11 .feel" for Black music and has learned to master the technical vocabulary o.f that music)? Can white people "understand" Black poetry? Should white critics o.f Black poetry be taken seriously? 2 Black poetry primarily emotion and lacking in intellect? there a Black Aesthetic? poetry? Is Is Can a white pro.fessor teach Black How does Black Language di.f.fer .from white language or English? And does Black poetry express the universal human --- condition? ask these questions 45. An indicatlo11 that they want more realistic and direct answers to some o.f the •1•1 t •• issues which have consumed Black activists, artists, academicians, and white scholars o.f the Black Experience. ~ who cL"e es ~eachersf on.fronting & racially-mixed clasW ._ all-Black classe~ ~ or • ~ all white clas ~, will sometimes 11 ~o~e aon!f'2 ssd; a distressing · panorama o.f anger, rejection, .fear, condescension, accusation, anti-intellectualism, intellectual snobbishness, racism, dis' T.'.' trust--and any number o.f other combtn¢11on1 of the contemporary student personality. (i.i kc. o't\-le.r poets) The Black poets do not Les.sen £be.::r=et\,,o,u '"' ii,i.1 1-.l'le~ ·~ since,\they, critically and thematically, are dispersed along a boundless spectrum of opinions, attitudes, creative 2. For a balanced discussion o.f this and related subjects, see Mphahlele' s Voices in the WhirlwindQ11~). 6 �approaches, ideologies, techniques and literary ph i losophies. ~ ;-~ teacher or student preparing for ei tber a semester or year-long course (or for a nBlackn unit to be integrated into a Humanities course, an American literature course, or a Black interdisciplinary project) should 1'e4d ~ the literature and lore of the Black past in order to give tentative answers and carry on adequate discussions when questions such as those above arise. After h aving been exposed to Black poets of national statut'e--via television programs such as Soul and Black Journal, at campus readings and conferences, Black Arts festivals and communi t y book parties--many students (es pec i ally Black students) may be informed, at the popular level, ab out the opinions and reading styles of the poets. However, neith er s tudent nor teacher must--and this point b as to be stressed a.gain and again--succumb to the temptation to up until 1965. 11 skip all poetry 11 IV True, there is great ,a nd growing interest in the Black poetry .produced out of what has been variously called the Black Consciousness/Black Power/Black Nationalist/Black Arts/Neo-PanAfrican Movement. <JoC?SClqp.{~ Yet one who ,II! Ci 3"--_the Black ( or any) tradition will find himself engulfed in a maelstrom of conjecture and ideological hysteria; and the class, whose posture will be anti-historical, will be riddled with soap opera-type rhetoric about revolution and liberation. nn astf f bil&CGB lfiir 1 i 5 I Mtlld@lij 3 ; d Harold Cruse (The Crisis of the Negro 7 �Intellectual) points out that each generation of Black artists and activists suffers from a lack of historical/cultural con- tinuity. the That is, they fail to study or are unaware of mistakes and the pitfalls of past struggles and consequently find themselves in predicaments not dissimilar to those of their predecessors. Needless to say, such "cultural amnesia" is not the state from which one approaches the study of Black poetry. As observed earlier, the poets are not in agreement concerning what Black poetry is supposed to do, why it is written or whether whites can (or should) write or criticize it. 3 Reasons for the diverse beliefs and positions are numerous: the situation attending the birth and upbringing of the poet (note, for example, the distinctions between Claude McKay and Countee Cullen); his religious affiliation (Robert Hayden is of the f Baha'i faith; Askia Muhammad Toure is a Sunni Muslim; El-Muhajir 3. An important point at this juncture of Black poetry. For there is growing feeling among some poets and writers (many of who will not express themselves in public) that there are concerted attempts to muzzle, circumvent or circumscribe some authors because of their personal political view points or their brand of writing. For further allusion to this, see back issues of the Journal of Black Poetry, Black World, and other periodicals dealing with the contemporary Black Arts scene. 8 �(Marvin X) is a member of the Nation of Isla~ Eis eu K. Curtis Lyle was raised ,_c a 2Lp_eual 2n Jr a __ s a• 7.... -~------ ..... --- ' ii J Catholic); (J.... -;---•- l ---- I bis political leaning (which, in the case of many writers, is also religious); his preparation for poetr1/ ~ Un 4' z t : ;; I if 22 rntr· arl i ; tr ■ ! be] e t? ~~.:i=,..-~ 111- -- • - - -~ - - 7 I ]j ■ bis associations with o:t;her poets (many Black poets, for example,associ~Aand this is tl,;c o.v1',,. historically true}\ with writers of other races;"~'j\met one Black poet in 1970 who bad two masters' degrees but had not heard of Melvin Beaunorus Tolson!' ' , . ~ his current personal situation (does he live in the inner city? teach? time? play a musical instrument? write full write in other genres? read primarily Black poets?), and his feelings on the question: '~r~ you a poet first and then Black; or are .you Black first and then a poet?" a.~ Harmless as it may seem, that rhetorical utter~has entrapped scores of Black writers in ideological ar.rl political prisons-from which some would like to extricate themselves by asking simply: For '\That difference does it make?" many poets, however, it matters a great deal and they have written profusely on the implications of this question and the several others listed earlier. The teacher or discussion leader must sample opinions of writers and students, sharing the diversity of opinions with the same vigor and thoroughness that 9 �the di verse po~y is · ~ shared. Such parity allows for a continual balance in criticism, social undercurrents and the poems themselves. I pg z■ .2 zs hss zr Novelist Ralph Ellison bas suggested that be is a writer first and that his racial identity is subordinate to that fact. Poet Robert Hayden has taken a similar stand (see introduction to Kaleidoscope, Poems by American Negro Poets, 1967) . The same position had been taken several decades earlier by poet Countee Cullen. In his critical- biographical introduction to Cullen's poetry (The Book of American Negro Poetry, 1922), James Weldon Johnson observed that: Some critics have ventured to state that Cullen is not an authentic Negro poet. This statement, of necessity, involves a definition of "a Negro poet" and of "Negro Poetry." There might be several definitions framed, but the question raised is pure irrelevance. Also there is in it a faint flare-up of the old taboo which would object to the use of 11 white" material by the Negro artist, or at least regard it with indulgent condescension. Cullen himself has declared that, in the sense of wishing for consideration or allowances on account of race or of recognizing for himself any limitation to "racial" themes and forms, be has no desire 10 �or intention of being a Negro poet. In this he is not onl:[ within his right; he is right. (italics mine} Johnson went on to note that because Cullen "revolts againstn racial enclosures, the "best of his poetry is motivated by race." One could make a similar comment today about Ellison or Hayden. The works for which both are internationally acclaimed delve into the deepest regions of psyche and feeling. Black Meanwhile some younger poets--those who ~ gained exposure in the 1960 s--and several poets and critics who straddle both generations lash out, sometimes not so diplomatically, at what they see as compensatory actions and unnecessary self-deprecation by the older poets. Pulitzer Prize winner Gwendolyn Brooks said in a preface to Poems From Prison that Etheridge Knight was not the "stifled artiste." The comment represented an implied rebuttal to Black and white "academic II poets. 11 Elsewhere ,- -- r;,J, e... -... referred to the inelegancen of some Black poetry as being consistent with the bleak, drab landscape of hopelessness and despair . . oP fil II I ta inner-city dwellers. (Other critics, however, support the position of poet-critic Larry Neal that the Black Experience should not be defined in terms of "negatives.") Gu.,tndt\t..y r) I\ · Brooks became a kind of late Sixties, During t he f':_ 1!/ blo'Ute~~vt-e f{ the New Black Poetry Movement (at least in Chicago), ceased publishing with Harper and Row, and began to release h er writings t ~rough Broadside Press--a ~ Detroit-based Black publishing 11 �house under the supervision of' Dudley Randall• :al t I it; • new con- t4e1--- ~ sciousness, she declares, came about as a result of' having attended a Black writers conf'erence 11W (1967) at Fisk University f>6."'T1t.1p~T~cl \ ~ «hsc u1.11·o~s where she heard and · f\ _ with poets Imamu Amiri Baraka. (LeRoi Jones), Don L. Lee, ·Nikki Giovanni, novelist John Oliver Killens, and rn.o.'ff\.y other writers, activists and artists. The violent social explosions in the cities, the Vietnam war that took • • • • Black lives and crippled g the persistent emergence of' Africa--all, I'-· SJ, )JI --- aided in the development of' her new consciousness. written that it 11 t r others, said, She has f'rightens 11 her to think that if she had died before she reached fifty, "I would have died a 'Negro' f'raction." Hayden, disclaiming the Gwendolyn Brooks position, assumes he has been 'Black' all along and continues to reject any singular, unarguable position on the Black Aesthetic, or the poet-first, Black-second/Black-f'irst, poet-second controversy. Assessing Baraka, Hayden admits that he recognizes the younger poet's power but deplores "his Black nazism. 11 J. Saunders Redding, a dean of' the Black critical establishment, feels there is no such thing as a nBlack Aesth etic"; Poet Paul Vesey @amuel Allen) calls it "a voyage of' discovery--I think it will yield return not as greatly as in music, perhaps, where t h e b lack aesthetic dominates an entire cultural area of' the west "'t ottiev- poets and critics, �however, ignore questions dealing with aesthetics, the level of Blackness in their work, their primary audience, and the mood or spirit that influences their writing . At the same time there are trends, some regional and some national, that can be identified. Identifying and exploring these trends can be immensely rewarding. Some prerequisites to an understanding of trends and attitudes that stem from the on-going creative process are: a study of slavery, as it was instituted by Europe and refined in the United States; an examination of Black social history, and a scrutiny of West African and Afro-American folklore. The thorough student of Black poetry will steep ' hi~self in the history of Western Civilizationj he will: also , develop an appreciation for the complex web of Black-white inter-relationAll this is necessary in ships in America . ·/\ preparing to participate fully and knowledgeably in the often tense-filled readings and discussions stimulated by the works of Black poets and writers . V Much of the subject matter of Black poetry is unpleasant , since it is pervaded with the weighty memory and impact of slavery. And if slavery is among the lesser pleasant items ,to be discussed, $ 11Kce.. lynching becomes even more repugnant--especially/\.so much• such activity occurred "after" slavery was officially ended. But one the soon sees that practically every poet since ;!,_,he -end of Civil War has written a poem about lynching . The poets who do not deal with actual lynchings, as we have come to know or interpret them, write about half-lynchings, character or cultural defilement and the 13 �mental and physical destruction of Black humanity. If a discussion of slavery is unpleasant, then, a consideration of lynching is horri:f'ying. However, skilled di SC. \J ~~a.: if'i will maneuver judiciously through the rough waters of such sessions--keeping emotional deluges to a minimum by admitting :facts and clear interpretations. During such occasions, everyone must be on guard less the classroom becomes a courtroom. At the same time, a convener who cannot preside over vigorous and thorough discussions of these painful events ~ - and details may find himself, C later ~ •n111.1•• trying to bridge even wider gulfs of doubt, frustration, mistrust and alienation. Again, the -------.. study~ of Black poetry (or any aspect o:f' . . . Black wliv~) assumes the complexities of the Black Experience itself. Suc h Nevertheless, A study is infinitely rewarding because it is a vehicle which distills the particular insights and perspectives of Black Americans into concise and authentic forms: merging the rich rural-Biblical-urban idioms with colorfully luscious imagery and (in many cases) peerless technical proficiency in the use of literary English and Western poetic forms. .Fo"" UClmpLe.J W~et\ students are confronted with the various poems on lync_b ings, E!i n , , ult&; study can be underscored by an examination of language, form, posture, poetic toolery and overall achieve- r. mentor effe'xveness of the poems. "Between the World and Me II the - I n Richard Wright's poet becomes the persona; the oak tree narrates the lynching in Dunbar ' s "The Haunted Oak. 14 11 �Coo't'\ie-e.. ACullen speaks as "I" in "Scottsboro, Too, Is Worth Its Song" which admonishes white American poets for remaining silent over unjust treatment of Black men while they sing: ... sharp and pretty Tunes for Sacco and Vanzetti,~•• ........ , CltA.\de InAMcKay's "The Lynching" the killing of the Black man is made analagous to - the crucifixion; a sonnet, and awesome throughout, the poem descends to its rhyming couplet with a final ghel.Stly irony: And little lads, lynchers that were to be, Danced round the dredful thing in fiendish glee. Certainly in these poems--and the dozens of others that employ the lynching _theme--there is much t')'ldTe"°\a..-l tot' Pu"''tt,~t1 ~lidy discussion . In the four poems mentioned, ~"'etoy 7' a:, such the poets tind diverse forms as the sonnet, the ballad (Dunbar) and free verse (Wright). hislowla.L be the additionalAinquiry Helpful in this area will -- -- - -- - ' into the development of white hate groups such as the Ku Klux Ia.an 1.5 �and the history of race riots in America. Riots in at least a dozen American communities in 1919, for example, helped spur McKay to write ttif We Must Dien, a poignant sonnet with its even more poignant and popular ending couplet-Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back! --a poem which Winston Churchill read before the House of Commons, during World War II, to spark bis countrymen in the dim hoursJ ) during the 1972 prison rebellion in Attica 'J • f ~ournalists found the poem scribbled on the wall of a cell and the national press attributed it to a prisoner! Of great assistance, too is a knowledge of tre history of slave revolts (many Black poets write about them) and the patterns of violence in America. Attuned teachers and students will want to consult sources such as 100 Years of Lynching (Ginzberg), back issues of Black and liberal white news journals and papers and especially past tbeNAJK.P.. issues of The Crisis, the official news and opinion arm of W.E.B. DuBois, ~cans fue first Blacks- to re- ceive a Ph.D., edited The Crisis for over 20. years from its beginning in 1910. For further readings, the teacher can refer t.o ·.thc. extensive bibliography plus appropriate sections h, anthologies, textbooks and t,Hle f. -~ · sources . VI •· a rs I\ JPIM st 16 €DJ'(.. �VI The ~cJcn-r. o( Blac.k.. ~ should arm himself to the best of his ability with the tools of criticism and a knowledge of Black culture. He must cmders-landtke - · ., part nduality" plays in the lives of Blacks and how sucb "twoness" is manifest in The poetry; he should recognize the key issues being raised W and debated among Black artists, scholars and 17 �activists--and have some feel for the historical circumstances out~ihich these issues and debates grew; he ought to under'-vh'llt rneAM~ his standABaraka ~ reference to some Black poets as "integrationists" 'r\ and "arty poets 11 ; be will have to know ·what many of the Hew V ?IU: poets mean wh en they say t h ey reject Western trrorms '' and refuse to be judged oy wh ite standards (Baraka, for exampl e, talks about post-American forms); he will also want to recognize Black in-house humor and intracommunal disparagement in 11 words and phrases like "nigger, . 11 oreo, 11 "colored, a nut , " . . 11 11 11 11 tbe man , " brother , n 11 crumbcrushers, 11 nmain squeeze," and • "Mr. Cbarlte. 11 11 "negro," ''Uncle Tom, dicty," 11 bad mouth, tt "bust (For further indication of this dictional and phonological richness and the breadth of Black Language, see The Dictionary of American Slang, Hajor•s Dictionary of Afro-American Slang, the uGlossory of Selected Terms" in The Psychology of Black Language (Haskins and Butts), Abraham's Deep Down in the Jungle, Andrews' and Owens' Black Language, Claerb~ut ' s Black Jargon in White America, Twiggs• Pan-African Language in the Western Hemisphere, Welmers ' African Language Structures, Kochman's Rappin' and Stylin' Out, and Dillard's Black English. Additionally the-:~eo,qr, - ·. the motivations of some of the poets. -.._, will want to know All poets, for example, do not rate being called "poets" in the traditional (white or Black) sense . Redding, in a recent Muhammad Speaks interview, accused some of the new Black writers of lacking 'moral and 18 �them 'literary hustlersf 0 Observing that Baraka recently signed a 10-year contract with Random House, Redding said such an act is inconsistent with the poet's nationalistic assertions and positions. In a ~ recent ~laQk liorJD article, novelist- poet Ishmael Reed spoke disparagingly of some of the new Blac_k critics ( "Blackopaths n) and poets ("nationtime poets," was the reference). -Ho.~, \. IV\odhubu1, (Oor,L,Le~.) Poet-essayis~fx.c has chided poet Nikki Giovanni for being an nindi vidual n who lacks technical abilities; and in w1111 n ~ issue of .Jet magazine a reader irately asked if M"Ms, Giovanni deserved respect after accepting a Woman-of-the-Year award from a national white women's organization. Bo#r Slrt:e - and Reed were nominated ~or Pulitzer Prizes in 1973. Hayden, a member of the older group of poets, wh o was only 17 years old when the Harlem Renaissance burned out, feels that (praised by Gwendolyn Brooks, Hoyt Fuller of Black World, Randall and Baraka) has potential as a poet but lacks discipline and seems unable to separate poetic technique from ideological ranting. On the other band, Stephen Henderson, ;r1 g, author-editor of UnderstandA'!he New Black Poetry praises -.1"~yov~~pot.:t' 1 relentlessly and says his popularity is "tantamount to stardow.fin Henderson, who holds a Ph.D., is currently chairman Mod of the new Humanities division at Howard University where...-...~ is a writer-in-residence. - G\AJehdoLitl A..Brooks gives . .Introduction to The Poetry of Black America , for spawning much of the contemporary Black consciousness literature. 19 , krw,1 credit tillll- \t) n el-°' �(/4.ny serious(ldhw~~·,o\"\ oF the development of Black poetry must we and positions. Con 1 iJer ail these intense feelings One must also organize orderly discussions or readings around the divergent views~►oug I, Whtc."- . arw ap ; 217 7 I 7s LE b BSCSM8 LfolSSB Uszc1. participants CG..'1 Vfl.~t- of 3 1 th'Ct ivu:.L~ " poetry/\....,_ the political, social and historical tensions out dev Lop a complete picture of tbeArichness of which'""" 'i't' •·-~·-·- is generated.<//Robert Hayden, for one, un- derstands · this confluence ·or _issues an d temperments a s wit n es sed by hi s· eom:ment s on t h e New Black ·Poetry --with appropri ate historical footnotes: r The emergence of a so-called school of Black Poetry in America has been one of the significant literary developments of the modern period. Although the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920fs brought certain Afro-American poets into prominence, it was not until the intensification of the civil rights struggle during the 1960 1 s that a separate group of black poets began to take shape. Avowedly nationalistic ( that- is, racially proud) and scornf'ul of western aesthetics, these poets continued the protest tradition, historically associated with Negro writers. But they were more radical in outlook than their predecessors. Unlike the Harlem group, they rejected entry into the mainstream of American literature as a desirable goal. They insisted that their poetry 20 �could not be judged by white standards, urging its importance as an expression of black consciousness. LeRoi Jones--the most inf'luential of the young activist poets--Don L. Lee, Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez, Mari Evans, Etheridge Knight, and David Henderson attune their lyres to the 'black esthetic.• Not yet satisfactorily defined, this term, originating in the sixties, may .be interpreted as a sense of the spiritual and artistic values of blackness . t gi p511i&PB , & l id bt .C AMO! !Odd I &G!&l &I I 1dt 2 ·, p 9 ff Y t f j;' sf 7 J t sant1fn2 • T?sss l 5 Ii I b@&I J ii I § 7 Fi 7 3 Ii a i 772 e31 I II 1 I @if P tl i tt j 1. f f7 I I 7 r£t ii s? 1 Ji : rm ni sad lsiF ifi?s a a? bts ssaospt i 'DJs al D s· 7 I 3 t 41Ubis&l&b& !ts sl 1iP:rsnt t ll!d&I f u" · • 1 ti Juda Ur•@ 1st Hs?h 'f;j PEON sf S D Ji: l pjqg 2 a i n :as · DJ a l 1 3 rr Brsslzc, 3 Q(Q 6Ji~umted sTet,1eS m .L:.Te~o.Jote,....Mi\\Er-1H~pen; O'Neo.L 1\q73) 21 �Hayden's opening comments, then, corroborate the opening sentence to this introduction--that Black poetry is one of the most important movements on the literary scene today. Yet, while it is exciting to study this "poetry in process" (if you please), the enthusiast must be on guard not to skip the tradition (the folk ,u,o UO.\ot\ali'ons precedents)Ain favor of plunging into a Black poem that heaps wrath on Watergate conspirators, or urban policemen who shoot rioters and looters. •.-.::• ~ · ~aa.t■ r•@•••-llllii••·•J1111l~k•2~s~ag,1~1-B0~B~Olllllfllii~L~c~l~o~ VII Many of the "literary hustlers" to whom Redding refers have capitalized on the topical and episodic issues--witb little or no training in the Black tradition or writing. '"".,. Hence, the student mustAassume that just because a statement is "relevant," it is poetry! The Black or white researcher will "dig ••• deeper to the gold"--in the words of .James David Corruthers-- and "establish" a sound tradition against which to measure the Black poetry of today. If the Black poet in question fails, he fails because he collapses from the weight of the past--instead of being buoyed up by it. -----.... 0 this sound tradition, ..--- e., In establishing must realize, first, that the Black Experience is not monolithic--although 22 �recurring trends and broad i mplications do exist in the areas of language, religion, humor, dance, music and general life there is often more consistency th o..n ,'n wh o;t°1t\ey tc.v,o w,ca.bei,+1+-teMs:twu in 'lllllllt Blacks' 1'.ll'VewL?~-e of popular nAmerican n cul tur ~ · Ther~ are several reasons for such a paradoxical i mbalance and lack of focus--many of them locked in the enigmatic see-saw of Black history. Ellison observed in the 1940s _that if Black leaders ever unraveled the puzzle of the zoot suit and the dark glasses (meaning the secret of Black urban "styling" habits), they could, perhaps, take the political and psychological reigns of Black masses from whites. observation was accurate. Ellison's James Baldwin has written that, in Europe, he looked at the great Renaissance masterpieces and felt ashamed that his race had not produced such work • . Baldwin · did \'\OT ~t\ow· that the great Spo..rnsk painter, Pablo Picasso, had borrowed heavily from African motifs, . . architect Lee-Corbousier was or t h at influenced by Att-i<.o.n thatched-roof huts • Tbe implications of this part offhe discussion are many and far reaching. •w•--••• Ellison's, 5. For an exciting recitation and indictment via a "cultural quiz", listen to poet-critic Stanley Crouch 's Ain't No Ambulances for no Nig t ---------------..::.:..:,+-----man). 23 (Flying Dutch- �Crouch's and Baldwin's observations are ti mely and i mportant. ~o..~-tbo They suggest • • • t ~at~ma ny - • • • • • • of t h e students who are in Blac k poetry (Black Studies) classes do not ha ve a working knowledge of the tradition out of wh ich t b e poetry grew.Y:tt has become popular, in some quarters, to i gnore th is fact.. 1:t1111iaailllliiiililllllillli111111111m11111il•wwP M~=eie="1!fl~~......llllrl ----- - p,o#gr enilg zspress:w1 . .... -~.., .._ - . Th·e impo:rtanc'e of a knowl edge of the Black literary tradition ~ is a · . · ·_ ·. ~ m.t pointAcannot be stressed too often or too emphatically. Interestingly the majority of t be persons wh o 1 want to know something about Black poetry are not preoccupied with the craft of poetry--- - - the hows and whys of poetry • .Li~o.o) .-.it students and casual reader~ J &SH aui seem to be more interested in the sociological (some "pathological") aspects o-:f the poetry. say The situation varies, of course, fro m campus to campus, and from Blac k to white to interracial settings . the enthusiast ShtwL~ \, suit of the ·wont.. 11 t Iii! 11 1f "vt- C keep the per- ti ghtn in terms of t h e discipline demanded by the p oetry itself. Another problem -~~~ S~io\J, ~~~": ~ $1 ettt organize segments when lflllI 1111 I I 1 I sought. by is how to ppreciation''of the material is -rv<..h. a..n , - ---:-~ approach could be - . dtc:T~led one's initial conception of the poetry or �by the level of interest and preparation. A casual reader, for example, would not study the same poems with the same intensity as would a senior or graduate literature major. Nevertheless, teachers, students and poetry lovers must bear in mind that they are looking into Black poetry and not merely some fair-to-middling imitation of traditional Western poetry--even though the two often converge on many points. Moreover, the differences are not always easy to identify; but on:'::ssimilates the Afro-American world-view into his study of the poetry will have lees problems recognizing the differences than those who read the poetry"cold." Black and wite poets select the same words but for different reasons. There are many variables and one has to be cautious about hard-fast judgements. But we can say that the Afro-American poet is almost always its apt to select a word for typographical, phonological and political dimensions. Word selection among European and American poets, on the other hand, is more often made for allusory and intellectual reasoni. This is not to say that Black poets are not intellectual or that Euro-American poets are not musical. Exceptions to the foregoing groupings are legend. But it is important to identify music (songified language) as a dominant influence on the AfroAmerican poet--not just in an aesthetical or inspirational sense, but in terms of architectonics, in terms of basic (original) structures. Again we are treading on sensitive ground, because in the context of racial and intellectual mixtures, a curious melting pot in likely to boil. Example: white students, well-grounded in their own literary tradition but having a skeletal knowledge of Black Culture may want to speed up the treatment of the poetry. Failing to recognize that many students def not know the name& 25 �and meanings of simple poetic devices(metaphors, similes, alliteration, onomatopoeia), insensitive teachers and aggressive students often cause premature destruction of group interests. Such situations do occur. Even the best literature teachers sometime assume students have been drilled in the use of figur?,tive language. Ironically, most students have been "drilled" in the figures; but the holes from the drillings allows information to go in one ear and out the other! Many students, in the whir of words, will not aclmowledge their ignorance of the language of poetic criticism and analysis, especially if they happen to be Black students and think the instructor expects them to be "experts" on the Black Experience. On the other hand, the intellectual snobbery often accompanying the student 11 clicks 11 should not be tolerated in a discussion of Black poetry. Luckily, however, the curves, crests and peaks of Black poetry keep bringing all aspects of human nature full circle. Many of the ideas, theses, axioms and broad statements made thus · far will be re-examined on a continuing basis throughout the remainder o f this book. Within the running history of Afro-American poetry; we will identify the poets' preference for lexical and phonological items; their reliance on major and minor archetypes (as they are derived from the larger as well as the Black mythic tablets); their fetish for themes and positions(as these strains ertne... OCl0.5iontH. becomel\clusterec:l 0r I\. . ) ; their relationships to each o.tp.er and 11 " ( school 11 ) the folk and/or literary roots; and their individual and/0-r group achievements. Obviously, the folk influences are not a~ easy to place within the chronology as a r e the Clc:ttv"t ti e.s, dat~ literary of the poets. So the reader should think o f the folk world as one which constantly hovers over the whole of Afro-Ame ri can literary and cultural life-sometimes calling it to its t~~s, other times providing it with just the needed lift and magic. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Text Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EBRWritings_08_20 Title A name given to the resource First typed draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Introduction: Chapter I. Black Poetry: Views, Visions, Conflicts, p. 1-26, typed with handwritten edits Relation A related resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Language A language of the resource English Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource For digital rights and permissions, see <a href="https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml">https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml</a> or contact <a href="mailto:library@siue.edu">library@siue.edu</a> for direct inquiries. In copyright. <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Redmond, Eugene B.