Eulogies

Poetry. African-American studies. Reprint. For 200 years, the eulogy has been a vital, though rarely studied, form of African-American expression. Here Baraka gathers in a volume the eulogies he has spoken and written, in poetry and prose, over the last 30 years. Those eulogized by Baraka include political leaders such as Malcolm X, musicians like John Coltrane, and Baraka's friends and family members. "For me, writing a eulogy is very much part of a writer's central purpose, which is not supposed to be serving as a spontaneous reflector of one's self, but as an investigator of a useful shared vision" -from the Foreword by Baraka.