Amiri Baraka (Magill’s Choice: American Ethnic Writers)

Author Profile

Introspective yet concerned with public, political issues, Amiri Baraka’s works frequently focus on his personal attempt to define an African American identity. Born into a close-knit family that had migrated from the South, Baraka was a bright student. In adolescence Baraka became aware of differences between African American middle-class and working-class lives and viewpoints. He recalls the identity crisis that grew out of his developing class awareness in such works as “Letter to E. Franklin Frazier,” his novel The System of Dante’s Hell, and...

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