\"Short speech to my friends\" by Amiri Baraka notes PDF

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Notes on "Short speech to my friends" by Amiri Baraka from Professor Uche Nduka's Intro to Poetry class...

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September 14 Thursday, September 14, 2017

4:48 PM

Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones) (10/7/1934-1/9/2014) African American poet, dramatist, essayist, music critic Best known play: Dutchman Statements: - The artist's role is to raise the consciousness of the people. To make them understand life, the world, and themselves more completely. - The poet is someone, I think, who's interested in registering experience immediately or giving you a sense of immediacy and directness. Influenced by jazz, European modernism "Short speech to my friends" Features: mood/voice/tone/style - Roi = him (the name change) - Stanza's are staggered - attempt to disobey, go against - Baraka an advocate for peace, used his artistic voice - Art and poetry = danger - There's no society where there isn't any injustice - First stanza: first stanza first part is very idealist, what would be good, and then second part is talking about what it really is; people are isolated from society (POC) - Voluntary poverty: bohemians/creatives, quit to give yourself time to be able to create and stuff - Is power the enemy?? Trying to achieve power can be your enemy bc its time consuming and can take a lot of work and you could be doing other shit - Mockery, sarcasm, direct invective - Fake heroes, façade: they are good on the outside but not on the inside - "Making love to those speedy heroines of masturbation or kicking literal evil continually down filmy public stairs." Giving into life's pleasures, following passions or the opposite...