Jazz Poet Amiri Baraka Dead At 79

By Michael VerityJanuary 10, 2014
One of the 1960's and 1970's most famous -- and to some, most notorious -- political poets, Amiri Baraka, has passed away at the age of 79.

Baraka, who was originally known as LeRoi Jones, was a radical force in extending the political debates of the times beyond the podium of town hall to the realm of music and arts. His work was an inspiration to a whole generation of artists, from those with whom he lived and worked like John Coltrane to the creatives of today who are making jazz, rap and hip-hop music.

When still known as LeRoi Jones, Baraka published "Dutchman," a one-act play that made headlines when it was performed in New York City in 1964, at the height of the civil rights movement. "Charlie Parker. All the hip white boys scream for Bird," yells the play's lead character, Clay. "And they sit there talking about the tortured genius of Charlie Parker. Bird would've not played a note of music if he just walked up to East 67th Street and killed the first 10 white people he saw. Not a note!"
Read more: http://jazz.about.com/b/2014/01/10/jazz-poet-amiri-baraka-dead-at-79.htm