NYU Black Renaissance Noire Spring/Summer 2014 | Page 6

My Take and
“I’m slammin deaths
door,” a Eulogy
for Amiri Baraka

By

QUINCY TROUPE

By

CLYDE TAYLOR

Because of the untimely and profoundly sad death
of my long time dear friend, the great poet, critic,
playwright, novelist and political activist, Amiri Baraka,
I share this space with Dr. Clyde Taylor, one of the
founding editors of this publication, whose moving
eulogy appears below for the first time since I have
been editing Black Renaissance Noire.
Because of the untimely and profoundly
sad death of my long time dear
friend, the great poet, critic, playwright,
novelist and political activist, Amiri
Baraka, for the first time since I
have been editing Black Renaissance
Noire. I share this space with Dr. Clyde
Taylor, one of the founding editors of
this publication, whose moving eulogy
appears below.

4

I first read Clyde’s eulogy in an on-going
online conversation he and a group
of his friends have been having for the
last five years or so. These conversations
have been, and are today, some of the
most intellectually challenging dialogues
about American, African-American
and world culture, music, literature,
the visual arts and politics that I have
read in my life time. These discussions
have been bodacious, blunt, honest,
ardent. They carry profound insights
into our fragile human condition.

We are happy that we are publishing
another exciting issue of Black
Renaissance Noire this spring. In this
issue we are privileged to publish
the fiction of Marcus J. Guillory and
the non-fiction of Jacqueline Bishop,
Adrian Castro, Linda Janet Holmes,
Walter L. Gordon, Honorée Jeffers
and Alain Ricard. We are also honored
to publish a special section of
contemporary African Poetry — Kofi
Awoonor, TJ Dema, Clifton Gachagua,
Tsitsi Jali, Nick Makoha, Ladan Osman,
Warsan Shire and Len Verwey — and
the poetry of Joshua B. Bennett,
Kamau Brathwaite, Marilyn Chin,
Kahn Santori Davidson, Kwame
Dawes, DuEwa Frazier, Rachel Eliza
Griffiths, Ishmael Reed and Amber
Aliya Steward. In addition, we publish
the first act of a new play by the
celebrated poet, Yusef Komunyakaa,
interviews by Jan Castro with the
Kenyan artist, Wangechi Muti, and the
poet and photographer, Rachel Eliza
Griffiths. We are privileged to publish
photographs by Lhouceine Aamar,
Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Shawn Walker,
Elizabeth Turnock and artworks by
John Rozelle and Wangechi Mutu.

Finally, we want to say farewell to the
great South African leader, Nelson
Mandela, the great poets who died
recently — Terry Adkins, Amiri Baraka,
Frank Lima, Tato Laviera, Luis Reyes
Rivera, Wanda Coleman — and the
luminous actor, Phillip Seymour
Hoffman. As always, we at brn
welcome your feedback on this and
every issue, and we thank you for your
continued support of our efforts. n