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The Black Arts Era is characterized by powerful voices such as that of Ishmael Reed or Amiri Baraka. In his poem Black Art, Amiri Baraka potently draws attention to the need for a self-conscious black poetry which would accentuate intentionally all the features specific to the African-American culture. The harsh tone of the poem at the beginning and the almost raging, ferocious rhythm indicate the desire to awaken the spirit of the black to their individuality: "Poems are bull***** unless they are / teeth or trees or lemons piled / on a step...Poem scream poison gas on beasts in green berets / Clean out the world for virtue and love, / Let there be no love poems written / until love can exist freely and / cleanly."(Gates and McKay, 935) the poem starts in a harsh and even violent tone, to end in a soft voice speaking about love. The effect builds thus to indicate the need for a specifically black literature that will speak to the black people in their own language: "We want a black poem. And a / Black World / Let the world be a Black Poem / and Let All Black People Speak This Poem / Silently / or LOUD."(Gates and McKay, 935) the new literature thus has to be completely black and thus to follow all the rules of the cannon.
The Literature since 1975 rounds up the definition of the canon. Maya Angelou's Still I Rise is such an example. Angelou seems to speak only for herself, as the repetitive "Still I rise" indicates. However, it is plain that she speaks in the name of her people at the same time. The writer celebrates her own self as an emblematic image of the entire people. Pride and self-esteem are the major ingredients in the writer's cogent and powerful discourse. The verb "to rise" also suggests dignity and uprightness,...
Throughout the ages, the African-American literature has grown with the black race, emerging with it from slavery and finally finding its own voice and identity.
Works Cited
Dept. Of State: International Information Programs: Publications - Outline of American Literature." International Information Programs. Apr. 2002. U.S. Department of State. 18 Mar. 2008 http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/oal/amlitweb.htm.
Gates, Henry L., and Nellie Y. McKay, eds. The Norton Anthology of African-American Literature. New York W.W. Norton & Company, 1997.
Gorski, Paul C. "Classic African-American Literature." EdChange Multicultural Pavilion. 2008. EdChange. 18 Mar. 2008 http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/sites/aframdocs.html.
Keenan, AM. "African-American Review." African-American Review. 5 Mar. 2008. Saint Louis University. 16 Mar. 2008 http://aar.slu.edu/.
Lightfoot, Judy. "Judy Lightfoot PhD - Some Characteristics of African-American Literature." Judy Lightfoot. 18 Mar. 2008 http://home.earthlink.net/~judylightfoot/afrchar.html.
Ramsey, Inez. "African-American Writers Online: E-Texts." African-American Writers Online: E-Texts. Internet School Library Media Center. 17 Mar. 2008 http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/afroonline.htm.
Works Cited
Dept. Of State: International Information Programs: Publications - Outline of American Literature." International Information Programs. Apr. 2002. U.S. Department of State. 18 Mar. 2008 http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/oal/amlitweb.htm.
Gates, Henry L., and Nellie Y. McKay, eds. The Norton Anthology of African-American Literature. New York W.W. Norton & Company, 1997.
Gorski, Paul C. "Classic African-American Literature." EdChange Multicultural Pavilion. 2008. EdChange. 18 Mar. 2008 http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/sites/aframdocs.html.
Keenan, AM. "African-American Review." African-American Review. 5 Mar. 2008. Saint Louis University. 16 Mar. 2008 http://aar.slu.edu/.
Lightfoot, Judy. "Judy Lightfoot PhD - Some Characteristics of African-American Literature." Judy Lightfoot. 18 Mar. 2008 http://home.earthlink.net/~judylightfoot/afrchar.html.
Ramsey, Inez. "African-American Writers Online: E-Texts." African-American Writers Online: E-Texts. Internet School Library Media Center. 17 Mar. 2008 http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/afroonline.htm.
American Literature discussion topics: 1. Discuss Sarah Orne Jewett Charles Chesnutt contributed local color fiction nineteenth century stories respective regions (Jewett writing New England Chesnutt South). Sarah Orne Jewett and Charles Chesnutt played essential roles in promoting concepts and thinking in general in the regions of New England, and, respectively, the American South. The fact that these people's writings provide suggestive sketches of village life in the U.S. makes it possible
African-American Art Creative African-American Literature Were one to pause to give this subject consideration, it would appear that the vast majority of African-American artwork within the 20th century was organized around and largely revolved about pressing social issues of the time period. Despite the fact that African-Americans had been legally emancipated from slavery in the middle of the 19th century, there were still a number of eminent social issues (most noticeably civil
The stories are moving for the dominant cultural reader as well as for future generations of subjugated immigrant groups. This is not to say that all subjugated groups are immigrants, as the experience of the indigenous Native American population must also be seen as expressive of the American literary experience. The transition from an oral tradition to a written tradition has proved a struggle which was shadowed in extreme only
American Musical Genres: Rhythm and Blues Rhythm and Blues, or R&B, is an American musical genre largely attributed to the African-American community. Originating in the 1940s, the term was first used by record companies to describe recordings "marketed predominantly to urban African-Americans," at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz-based music with a heavy, insistent beat" was becoming increasingly popular (Palmer 5). Though the genre has evolved dramatically since its inception, certain
North American Literature of the 20th Century: A Literature of Alienation North American literature of the twentieth century began as a predominantly white male-dominated literature, on the heels of 19th century romantic literary expression, such as within the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, William Dean Howells, Stephen Crane, and others. Similarly, in the early decades of the 20th century, American literature was dominated by the likes of William
William Wells Brown The Work(s) of William Wells Brown; Clotel: or, the President's Daughter One of the most discussed and controversial topics during the 18th and early 19th centuries were on slavery and slaves' trade. The American continent was one of the major participants in the trade. Being an American native, William Wells Brown is one of the African-Americans who endured the bitter fruits of slavery. Born into slavery within Lexington-Kentucky