Although many new poetic and literary works were written between the years of 1965-1975 by black authors, a large part of the literary movement part of BAM was the publishing of collective works. Black publishers were taking popular and influential works by past black authors and combining them into collections for sale. These collections became widely popular. Some of the collections published were Black Literature in America, edited by Houston Baker, Black Spirits: A Festival of New Black Poets in America, edited by Woodie King, The Poetry of Black America: Anthology of the 20th Century, edited by Arnold Adoff, and Early Black American Poets, edited by William H. Robinson were all popular collections that were published. Beginning in 1965, a Black Writers Conference was formed and it still meets yearly to this day.
Pivotal Author
Pivotal Poets
Our vision is our voice
we cut through the country where madmen goosestep in tune to Guernica. we are people made of fire we walk with ceremonial breaths we have condemned talking mouths. we run without legs we see without eyes loud laughter breaks over our heads. give me courage so I can spread it over my face and mouth. we are secret rivers with shaking hips and crests come awake in our thunder so that our eyes can see behind trees. for the world is split wide open and you hide your hands behind your backs for the world is broken into little pieces and you beg with tin cups for life. are we not more than hunger and music? are we not more than harlequins and horns? are we not more than color and drums? are we not more than anger and dance? give me courage so I can spread it over my face and mouth. we are the shakers walking from top to bottom in a day we are like Shango involving ourselves in acts that bring life to the middle of our stomachs we are coming towards you madmen shredding your death talk standing in front with mornings around our waist we have inherited our prayers from the rain our eyes from the children of Soweto. red rain pours over the land and our fire mixes with the water. give me courage so I can spread it over my face and mouth. |
An Anthem was published post BAM, to reflect on the workings and impact of BAM. Sonia uses repetition to group the black community together, creating unity. The speaker shouts for continual work towards equality and fairness for minorities. Specifically, the speaker still sees the inequality of the black community.
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Amiri Baraka (born Everett LeRoi Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka was a writer of fiction, drama, and poetry. His nearly 50 year career focused on white racism against blacks and black community liberation. The most famous of his poetic works included Black Art, A Poem for Black Hearts, and Black Magic.
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BLACK ART
Poems are bullshit unless they are teeth or trees or lemons piled on a step. Or black ladies dying of men leaving nickel hearts beating them down. Fuck poems and they are useful, and they shoot come at you, love what you are, breathe like wrestlers, or shudder strangely after pissing. We want live words of the hip world live flesh & coursing blood. Hearts Brains Souls splintering fire. We want poems like fists beating niggers out of Jocks or dagger poems in the slimy bellies of the owner-jews. Black poems to smear on girdlemamma mulatto bitches whose brains are red jelly stuck between 'lizabeth Taylor’s toes. Stinking Whores! We want “poems that kill.” Assassin poems, poems that shoot guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys and take their weapons leaving them dead with tongues pulled out and sent to Ireland. Knockoff poems for dope selling wops or slick halfwhite politicians. Airplane poems, rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr …tuhtuhtuhtuhtuhtuhtuhtuhtuhtuh …rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr … Setting fire and death to whities ass. Look at the Liberal Spokesman for the jews clutch his throat & puke himself into eternity … rrrrrrrr There’s a negroleader pinned to a bar stool in Sardi’s eyeballs melting in hot flame. Another negroleader on the steps of the white house one kneeling between the sheriff’s thighs negotiating coolly for his people. Aggh … stumbles across the room … Put it on him, poem. Strip him naked to the world! Another bad poem cracking steel knuckles in a jewlady’s mouth Poem scream poison gas on beasts in green berets Clean out the world for virtue and love, Let there be no love poems written until love can exist freely and cleanly. Let Black people understand that they are the lovers and the sons of lovers and warriors and sons of warriors. Are poems & poets & all the loveliness here in the world We want a black poem. And a Black World. Let the world be a Black Poem And Let All Black People Speak This Poem Silently or LOUD |
This poem is credited with the entire start to the poetic movement of BAM. The last stanza became widely popular and the "battle cry" of the movement.
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