Reviewed by:

• A Black Arts Poetry Machine: Amiri Baraka and the Umbra Poets by David Grundy
• Howard Rambsy II

Beginning in the mid-2000s, a succession of scholars produced works on the Black Arts Movement. Tony Bolden, Melba Joyce Boyd, Cheryl Clarke, James Smethurst, Kalamu ya Salaam, and several others published treatments on the era and its many contributors. This overall critical discourse expanded and deepened our knowledge of one the most enduring and explosive artistic enterprises in Black literary history.

David Grundy’s A Black Arts Poetry Machine: Amiri Baraka and the Umbra Poets extends the scholarly assessments on the Black Arts era, but with a twist. Rather than concentrate primarily on the works produced during the late 1960s through the mid-1970s, Grundy examines the literary and cultural activities that preceded and crucially influenced what would become known as the Black Arts Movement. Previous studies have mentioned the significance of the arts group Umbra in passing, citing how its members would later make memorable contributions to Black Arts. Grundy, however, offers in-depth, illuminating treatments of works by some of its members.

Amiri Baraka’s name appears in the subtitle, and he is referenced throughout the book. Nonetheless, Grundy moves well beyond this one looming figure, offering analyses of writings, editorial practices, and organizing activities of various other Umbra members such as David Henderson, Ishmael Reed, Calvin C. Hernton, Lorenzo Thomas, Askia Touré, and Tom Dent. Grundy is especially interested in highlighting their connectivity as a defining practice and aesthetic of the Umbra group. Their association has sometimes been overlooked or downplayed for various reasons.

The extensive analyses of select poems by Baraka, Henderson, Hernton, Dent, and Thomas constitute one of the major contributions of this project. There are relatively few book-length studies on Black poetry, and even fewer examinations of the figures, notwithstanding Baraka, that are highlighted here. Even the analysis of Baraka’s poems breaks new ground by acknowledging him as a prominent Umbra artist-activist and at the same time showing how he learned invaluable lessons from the group. Grundy’s examinations of these poets’ work provide insight into their artistry and establish their places within American and African American literary histories.

A Black Arts Poetry Machine, it is worth noting, is more than a book of poetic interpretation. What Grundy has produced here also stands out as both literary and cultural history. His opening chapter focuses on the political activism of the group [End Page 345] On Guard for Freedom, which participated in protests following the murder of Patrice Lumumba in 1961. Members of On Guard in turn formed the core of Umbra. In retrospect and through Grundy’s helpful work, Umbra was evidently serving as a kind of Black Arts prototype by merging political activism and literary production. The poems focusing on Lumumba that Umbra members were composing were a blueprint for the proliferation of Malcolm X poems published during the late 1960s and the ’70s. The prose and verse produced by Umbra also reflected a sense of internationalism among creators. The interest and expressed sympathies with Congolese and Cuban political struggles shaped an expansive world view apparent in the works of Umbra membership.

A recognition that this group paved the way for subsequent artists and movement is crucial. “By ignoring and distorting the recent histories out of which the Black Arts emerged, particularly in New York,” notes Grundy, “we receive a history of black aesthetic radicalism which downplays its origins in collective struggle and debate.” The Black Arts Movement is generally recognized, sometimes reluctantly, as a major reason why American institutions have readily embraced African American poets during the twenty-first century. Yet, as Grundy’s study clarifies, On Guard and then Umbra did indispensable work that further paved the way for Black Arts.

In fact, Grundy, citing the work of Cheryl Higashida, points out that Rosa Guy and Maya Angelou, who participated in protests at the United Nations, met with and positively influenced the political awareness of Malcolm X. Somehow, the contributions of these Black women and others have...

审核人：

• 黑人艺术诗歌机器：阿米尔·巴拉卡（Amiri Baraka）和戴维·格伦迪（David Grundy）的本影诗人
• 霍华德·兰比西二世

乙在2000年代中期eginning，学者们继承产生的黑人艺术运动的作品。托尼·鲍登（Tony Bolden），梅尔巴·乔伊斯·博伊德（Melba Joyce Boyd），谢丽尔·克拉克（Cheryl Clarke），詹姆斯·史密瑟斯特（James Smethurst），卡拉姆·雅·萨拉姆（Kalamu ya Salaam）等人发表了有关该时代及其许多贡献者的治疗方法。这种整体的批判性话语扩展并加深了我们对黑人文学史上最持久和最具爆炸性的艺术企业的了解。

大卫·格伦迪（David Grundy）的《黑人艺术诗歌机器：阿米里·巴拉卡（Amiri Baraka）和本影诗人（Umbra Poets）扩展了对黑人艺术时代的学术评价，但有所不同。格伦迪没有将精力主要集中在1960年代后期到1970年代中期的作品上，而是考察了在后来被称为“黑人艺术运动”并对其产生重大影响的文学和文化活动。先前的研究曾提到过艺术团体Umbra的重要性，并指出其成员后来将如何为Black Arts做出令人难忘的贡献。但是，Grundy对其中一些成员的作品进行了深入的，有启发性的处理。

阿米里·巴拉卡（Amiri Baraka）的名字出现在副标题中，整本书中都引用了他。尽管如此，Grundy远远超越了这个隐约可见的人物，提供了对其他Umbra成员（如David Henderson，Ishmael Reed，Calvin C. Hernton，Lorenzo Thomas，AskiaTouré和Tom Dent）的著作，编辑实践以及组织活动的分析。格伦迪（Grundy）特别感兴趣的是强调其连接性，以此作为Umbra团队的定义性实践和美学。他们的联系有时由于各种原因而被忽视或轻描淡写。

巴拉卡（Baraka），亨德森（Henderson），赫恩顿（Hernton），登特（Dent）和托马斯（Thomas）对精选诗歌的广泛分析是该项目的主要贡献之一。尽管有巴拉卡（Baraka）的介绍，但有关黑人诗歌的书本研究很少，而对人物的研究也更少。甚至对巴拉卡诗歌的分析也通过承认他是杰出的本影艺术家活动家而开辟了新天地，同时也展示了他如何从团体中汲取宝贵的经验。格伦迪（Grundy）对这些诗人作品的考察为他们的艺术性提供了见识，并确立了他们在美国和非裔美国人文学史中的地位。

值得一提的是，一本《黑人艺术诗歌机器》不仅仅是一本诗般的解释书。格伦迪在这里产生的东西在文学和文化史上也很突出。他的开篇集中讨论了该团体的政治行动主义[End Page 345]On Guard for Freedom（自由卫队）在1961年帕特里斯·卢蒙巴（Patrice Lumumba）被谋杀后参加了抗议活动。OnGuard的成员又构成了本影的核心。回顾过去，并通过格伦迪的有益工作，通过整合政治行动主义和文学创作，Umbra显然是一种黑人艺术的原型。Umbra成员撰写的有关Lumumba的诗是1960年代末和70年代出版的Malcolm X诗泛滥的蓝图。Umbra制作的散文和诗歌也反映了创作者之间的国际主义感。对刚果和古巴政治斗争的兴趣和表达的同情塑造了本影社成员作品中显而易见的广阔的世界观。

至关重要的是，认识到这个团队为后续的艺术家和运动铺平了道路。格伦迪指出：“通过忽略和扭曲最近出现的黑人艺术的历史，特别是在纽约，我们收到了黑人美学激进主义的历史，而在集体斗争和辩论中却淡化了它的起源。” 黑人艺术运动被普遍认为，有时是不情愿的，是美国机构在二十一世纪欣然接受非裔美国人诗人的主要原因。然而，正如格伦迪（Grundy）的研究所阐明的那样，《 On Guard》和《 Umbra》做了必不可少的工作，这些工作进一步为《黑魔法》铺平了道路。

实际上，格伦迪（Grundy）援引谢里尔·东田（Cheryl Higashida）的著作指出，参加联合国抗议活动的罗莎·盖伊（Rosa Guy）和玛雅·安格鲁（Maya Angelou）与马尔科姆X会晤并对其政治意识产生了积极影响。不知何故，这些黑人妇女的贡献其他人有...