Black Poetry

During the Black Arts Movement, black people also started to write and publish. Since this has never been possible for them before, totally new points of view were opened to people. Racial and ethnic minorities were suddenly able to express themselves and so literacy became much more multifarious. Black people dealt with music, dance and theatre, but the most popular and efficient way for them to teach others about their lives and culture was poetry reading. The three poets Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones), Larry Neal, and Askia Muhammad Touré (Rolland Snellings), inspired through Malcom X, saw the Black Arts Movement as a revolutionary force to create an art and literature that would fight for black people’s liberation. Together, the trio later founded the Black Arts Repertory Theater School in Harlem. They were not just poets but also teachers, community activists and essayists.

Poets during this time in general were inspired by social change brought by the civil rights movement. Also non violent strategies like boycotts, marches and freedom rides, used by Blacks to gain freedom and equality, sparked a fire in many. Heroes during this time like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Emmet Till also brought a lot of inspiration to the people and helped them to believe in the possibility of equality amongst Whites and Blacks. The styles used for poetry writing during this time were free verse, typographical stylistic and linguistic experimentation. Other famous poets besides Baraka, Neal and Touré were Nikki Giovanni, Sam Allen, Mari Evans and Quincy Troupe.

Sources:

- wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Arts_Movement

- poets.org: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5647