Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Preferred Citation
Processing Information
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography
Scope and Content
Organization and Arrangement
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Amiri Baraka papers
Creator:
Baraka, Amiri
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.0491
Physical Description:
1.6 Linear Feet
(4 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1952-1966
Abstract: Amiri Baraka (1934-2014) was the founder and editor of the literary journals
Yugen and
Kulchur. An outspoken public intellectual, he was the author of poetry, plays, novels, and essays. The collection consists of poetry
manuscripts and correspondence submitted to Baraka while editor of
Yugen. Some material relates to
Kulchur.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in English and French.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Amiri Baraka Papers (Collection 491). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Processing Information
Processed by Tine Brouwer; re-processed by Doug Johnson, October, 2016. Re-processed primarily to eliminate some ambiguities
that were the result of unusual formatting. The collection name was also changed (from Imamu Amiri Baraka) to make it consistent
with the Library of Congress subject heading.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user
interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides
a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive
processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating
existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit
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UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography
Amiri Baraka was born Everett LeRoi Jones on October 7, 1934 in Newark, New Jersey. He attended Rutgers University and graduated
from Howard University. After some graduate study in New York City, he joined the U.S. Air Force. Upon his discharge he returned
to New York and took up writing poetry in earnest. To distribute the work of other poets as well, he and his wife, Hettie
Cohen, founded Totem Press and the literary journal
Yugen. With the poet Diana di Prima, he also founded the journal
Kulchur. Always politically active, throughout the 1960s, he became more radical and embraced Black nationalism. Later, he distanced
himself from Black nationalism to adopt a more globalistic Communism. For the rest of his life, he would be known as much
for his controversial political views as for his poetry. Baraka died on January 9, 2014 in the city of his birth.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of correspondence as well as poetry manuscripts submitted to Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones), editor of
Yugen. Some material relates to
Kulchur. Correspondents include Jonas Mekas, John Rechy, Diane Wakoski, and Philip Whalen.
Organization and Arrangement
The collection is arranged alphabetically by correspondent and manuscript author.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Beat generation -- Poetry.
Manuscripts for publication
Periodical editors -- United States -- Archives.
African American poets -- Archives.
African American dramatists -- Archives.
African American authors -- Archives.
Baraka, Amiri, 1934-2014--Archives.