Amiri Baraka R.I.P
In my estimation, Baraka was the greatest poet of the 21st century, and a he contender for the later half of the 20th.
His poem 'Somebody Blew Up America' stands as a testament to the power of poetry and had a deep effect on me when i first heard it. Then and now, i rate it as the single most informative investigation into the events of 9/11. Full of questions, contradictions, street slang, horror, truth and so a special beauty, the feeling of the unstoppable forces of language, gathered around the poet, Baraka, oozing out into the shared world through his fine tuned poetic being.
What a great American. And somebody i was fortunate to meet once in New York, handing his latest publication to Ravi Coltrane right in front of my eyes. I will cherish this chance encounter for all my days.
--Steve Fly