Poet, dramatist, novelist, critic, teacher, and political activist Amiri Baraka, born LeRoi Jones, vividly recounts his crusading role in African American literature. A driving force behind the Black Arts Movement, the prolific Baraka retells his experiences from his participation in avant-garde literature after World War II and his role in Black nationalism after the assassination of Malcolm X to his conversion to Islam and his commitments to an international socialist vision.
WhenThe Autobiography of LeRoi Joneswas first published in 1984, the publisher made substantial cuts in the copy. Under the careful direction of the author, the book has been restored to its original form. This is the first complete and unexpurgated version of Baraka’s life and work.
“The story of Baraka’s metamorphosis is itself part of the story of contemporary literature’s development.” —Publishers Weekly
Always a nuance ahead of everybody else, he is our more original writers. Nobody else comes close. —Ishmael Reed
He is regarded by those closest to Black art as the nation's leading Black writer, which of course suggests that no other, however talented, has proven—in this time and place—more valuable to Black people. —Ebony
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