Dutchman (Magill’s Choice: American Ethnic Writers)
At a glance:
- Author: Amiri Baraka
- First Published: 1964
- Genres: Social realism, Drama, Mythological literature
- Subjects: African Americans, 1960’s, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Racism, Sex or sexuality, Murder or homicide, New York City, Prejudices or antipathies, Violence, Liberalism, Subways
- Locales: New York, NY
The Work
A powerful one-act drama, Dutchman brought immediate and lasting attention to poet Amiri Baraka. The play is a searing two-character confrontation that begins playfully but builds rapidly in suspense and symbolic resonance. Set on a New York subway train, Dutchman opens with a well-dressed, intellectual, young African American man named Clay absorbed in reading a magazine. He is interrupted by Lula—a flirtatious, beautiful white woman a bit older than he. As Lula suggestively slices and eats an apple, she and Clay tease each other with bantering talk...
[The entire page is 895 words long]
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