In Memoriam

Amiri Baraka, former poet laureate and author, dead at 79

The controversial writer, activist, and former poet laureate of New Jersey has died.

Published

12 years ago

January 9, 2014

Amiri Baraka (Photo by David Sasaki from San Diego, USA, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amiri_Baraka.jpg)

Amiri Baraka, a controversial writer, activist, and former poet laureate of New Jersey has died.

Most known as a poet, Baraka was also a music critic and a dynamic playwright. His play, “Dutchman,” premiered in 1964 and received an Obie Award. Baraka was born Everett LeRio Jones in 1934 in Newark, NJ.

He attended Rutgers University and Howard University, spent three years in the U.S. Air Force, and returned to New York City to attend Columbia University and the New School for Social Research. He was also a professor at several universities.

He was hospitalized in December for an unknown condition.

Amiri Baraka was 79.

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Unheard Voices, an award-winning, family-operated online news magazine, began in 2004 as a community newsletter serving Neptune, Asbury Park, and Long Branch, N.J. Over time, it grew into a nationally recognized Black-owned media outlet. The publication remains one of the few dedicated to covering social justice issues. Its honors include the NAACP Unsung Hero Award and multiple media innovator awards for excellence in social justice reporting and communications.