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| | '''Amiri Baraka''' (born '''Everett LeRoi Jones''' in 1934) is an [[anti-Semitic]], [[black nationalism|black nationalist]] [[poet]]. He was Poet Laureate of [[New Jersey]] from 2002 to 2004. He describes himself as a "[[Third World]] [[Marxist]]-Leninist." | | '''Amiri Baraka''' (born '''Everett LeRoi Jones''' in 1934) is an [[anti-Semitic]], [[black nationalism|black nationalist]] [[poet]]. He was Poet Laureate of [[New Jersey]] from 2002 to 2004. He describes himself as a "[[Third World]] [[Marxist]]-Leninist." |
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| − | Baraka's poetry contains many anti-Semitic and anti-white rantings. There are also a lot of profanity, and it is laden with misspellings, bad punctuation, and improper diction. Overall, his poetry looks more like [[gangsta rap]] than traditional poems. Baraka states he is anti-Zionist (Denounces the nation of Israel and its policies), and not anti-Semitic. | + | Baraka's poetry contains many anti-Semitic and anti-white rantings. There it also a lot of profanity, and is laden with misspellings, bad punctuation, and improper diction. Overall, his poetry looks more like [[gangsta rap]] than traditional poems. Baraka states he is anti-Zionist (Denounces the nation of Israel and its policies), and not anti-Semitic. |
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| − | Baraka was at the center of a controversy during his Poet Laureate tenure in 2003, over his poem "Somebody Blew Up America." In this poem, Baraka blames [[Israel]] under [[Ariel Sharon]] for the [[9/11 attacks]]. He also maligns [[Colin Powell]], [[Clarence Thomas]], and [[Condoleezza Rice]] in this same poem. Then-governor [[Jim McGreevey]] criticized Baraka's poem and attempted to remove him from the post, but found there was no legal way to do so. In 2003, legislation was passed allowing [[Jim McGreevey|Mcgreevey]] to abolish the title of New Jersey Poet Laureate, which he then did. Baraka sued to reclaim the title but the court ruled that state officials were immune from such suits. | + | Baraka was at the center of a controversy during his Poet Laureate tenure in 2003, over his poem "Somebody Blew Up America." In this poem, Baraka blames [[Israel]] under [[Ariel Sharon]] for the [[9/11 attacks]]. He also maligns [[Colin Powell]], [[Clarence Thomas]], [[Ward Connerly]], and [[Condoleezza Rice]] in this same poem. Then-governor [[Jim McGreevey]] criticized Baraka's poem and attempted to remove him from the post, but found there was no legal way to do so. In 2003, legislation was passed allowing [[Jim McGreevey|McGreevey]] to abolish the title of New Jersey Poet Laureate, which he then did. Baraka sued to reclaim the title but the court ruled that state officials were immune from such suits. |
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| | ==External Links== | | ==External Links== |
| − | [http://www.discoverthenetworks.com/individualprofile.asp?indid=2171/ Amiri Baraka Profile on Discover the Networks] | + | [http://www.discoverthenetworks.com/individualProfile.asp?indid=2171/ Amiri Baraka Profile on Discover the Networks] |
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| | {{DEFAULTSORT:Baraka, Amiri}} | | {{DEFAULTSORT:Baraka, Amiri}} |