18 Amiri Baraka Quotes for You to Enjoy

Amiri Baraka

American Poet

Born: Oct 7, 1934

Died: Jan 9, 2014

America Black Me People Thought You

Related authors: Edgar Allan Poe Emily Dickinson Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Maya Angelou Ralph Waldo Emerson Robert Frost T. S. Eliot Walt Whitman

The artist's role is to raise the consciousness of the people. To make them understand life, the world and themselves more completely. That's how I see it. Otherwise, I don't know why you do it. Amiri Baraka

Life You People World Otherwise See More Know Make Understand How Role Artist Them Themselves Why Consciousness Raise

You have to start with slavery because those abuses have never been eradicated. You know, people are not living in slums because they voted to. You know, their children are not in jail because they wanted them to. You know, these are the results of a people who have been oppressed and suffer national oppression, you know. Amiri Baraka

You People Oppression National Living Those Slums Results Never Abuse Voted Know Because Eradicated Been Oppressed Jail Children Wanted Them Who Suffer Start Slavery

When I was saying, 'White people go to hell,' I never had trouble finding a publisher. But when I say, 'Black and white unite and fight, destroy capitalism,' then you suddenly become unreasonable. Amiri Baraka

Saying You Capitalism Fight People Black Black And White Trouble Become White Hell Say Destroy Finding Unreasonable Never Had Go Go To Hell Then Suddenly Unite Publisher

I'm trying to make the poems as musical as I can - from the inception. So that whether they're read on the page, or people read them aloud, or I read them aloud, the musicality will be kind of a given. Amiri Baraka

People Be Kind Will Musical Musicality Kind Poems Given Aloud Make Read Trying Whether Them Page Inception

You have to get an individual who's willing to actually struggle with the system to change it. As long as you have people who - to make substantive changes, to make infrastructure changes. Amiri Baraka

You Change Struggle People Long Changes System Willing Individual Make Get Substantive Infrastructure Who Actually

A man is either free or he is not. There cannot be any apprenticeship for freedom. Amiri Baraka

Freedom Man Free Apprenticeship He Any Cannot Either

I came to my Marxist view as a result of having struggled as a nationalist and found certain dead ends theoretically and ideologically, as far as nationalism was concerned, and had to reach out for a communist ideology. Amiri Baraka

My family came to Newark in the '20s. We've been there a long, long time. My father's name was LeRoi, the French-ified aspect of it, because his first name was Coyette, you see. They come from South Carolina. Amiri Baraka

We should understand the impact that Malcolm had on the whole of American society. Amiri Baraka

Society Impact Had Understand Malcolm American Should American Society Whole

This is said to us, even as this counterfeit president has legalized the Confederate Flag in Mississippi. Amiri Baraka

Confederate President Counterfeit Mississippi Said Flag Us Even

I guess I was the most unbohemian of all bohemians. My bohemianism consisted of not wanting to get involved with the stupid stuff that I thought people wanted you to get involved with - ... namely America... Dwight Eisenhower, McCarthyism and all those great things. Amiri Baraka

My bohemianism consisted of not wanting to get involved with the stupid stuff that I thought people wanted you to get involved with... namely America... Dwight Eisenhower, McCarthyism and all those great things. Amiri Baraka

Great You People Great Things Thought Stupid Those Stuff Namely Involved America Get Wanted Wanting McCarthyism Eisenhower Things

The major poets of New Jersey have all suffered, whether it's Whitman, who lost his job for 'Leaves of Grass,' or William Carlos Williams, who was called a communist, or Ginsberg, whose 'Howl' was prosecuted, or myself. If you practise poetry the way I think it needs to be done, you're going to put yourself in jeopardy. Amiri Baraka

Myself Needs You Yourself Job Lost Grass Think Way William Williams Poetry Poets Put Prosecuted New Major Practise New Jersey Leaves Howl His Done Going Whether Communist Whitman Who Jeopardy Whose Suffered Jersey

I was Everett LeRoi Jones. My grandfather's name was Everett. Amiri Baraka

Name Grandfather

I changed my name when we became aware of the African revolution and the whole question of our African roots. Amiri Baraka

Revolution Changed Our Name Became Question African Roots Whole Aware

I always liked jazz. And my people liked the old blues, race records and the doo-wop and all that. Amiri Baraka

People Old Jazz Records Liked Always Blues Race

Amiri Baraka Quotes

No more Amiri Baraka quotes