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IMDbPro

Amiri Baraka(1934-2014)

  • Writer
  • Actor
  • Additional Crew
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Amiri Baraka in Nationtime (1972)
Motherland is a film passage, which sweeps the continent of Africa. A bold empowering sophisticated story of Africa, which in progressive terms looks at Africa's past, present and future. The Sequel to the multi-award winning 500 Years Later
Play trailer2:48
Motherland (2010)
8 Videos
3 Photos
Amiri Baraka was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. He was the author of numerous books of poetry and taught at several universities, including the State University of New York at Buffalo and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He received the PEN/Beyond Margins Award in 2008 for Tales of the Out and the Gone.

Baraka's career spanned nearly 50 years. Some poems that are always associated with him are "The Music: Reflection on Jazz and Blues", "The Book of Monk", and "New Music, New Poetry", works that draw on topics from the worlds of society, music, and literature. Baraka's poetry and writing have attracted both high praise and condemnation. Some compare Baraka to James Baldwin and recognize him as one of the most respected and most widely published black writers of his generation.

Baraka received honors from a number of prestigious foundations, including the following: fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Langston Hughes Award from the City College of New York, the Rockefeller Foundation Award for Drama, an induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Before Columbus Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.
BornOctober 7, 1934
DiedJanuary 9, 2014(79)
BornOctober 7, 1934
DiedJanuary 9, 2014(79)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win total

Photos2

View Poster
View Poster

Known for

Warren Beatty in Bulworth (1998)
Bulworth
6.8
  • Rastaman
  • 1998
Kate Mara and André Holland in The Dutchman (2025)
The Dutchman
5.1
  • Writer
  • 2025
Shirley Knight and Al Freeman Jr. in Dutchman (1966)
Dutchman
7.0
  • Writer(as LeRoi Jones)
  • 1966
A Fable (1971)
A Fable
  • Writer(as LeRoy Jones)
  • 1971

Credits

IMDbPro

Writer



  • Kate Mara and André Holland in The Dutchman (2025)
    The Dutchman
    5.1
    • based on the play "Dutchman & The Slave" written by
    • 2025
  • Something in the Way of Things (2007)
    Something in the Way of Things
    Short
    • poem
    • 2007
  • The Toilet (2007)
    The Toilet
    Short
    • Writer
    • 2007
  • W.E.B. DuBois: A Biography in Four Voices (1996)
    W.E.B. DuBois: A Biography in Four Voices
    7.0
    • Writer
    • 1996
  • United States of Poetry (1995)
    United States of Poetry
    8.7
    TV Mini Series
    • poem
    • 1995
  • Madea
    7.3
    Short
    • Writer (as Leroy Jones)
    • 1973
  • A Fable (1971)
    A Fable
    • play
    • screenplay (as LeRoy Jones, as LeRoy Jones)
    • 1971
  • Nigger
    6.3
    TV Movie
    • novel
    • 1968
  • Shirley Knight and Al Freeman Jr. in Dutchman (1966)
    Dutchman
    7.0
    • play
    • screenplay (as LeRoi Jones, as LeRoi Jones)
    • 1966
  • Uhatut
    TV Movie
    • play "Dutchman" (as LeRoi Jones)
    • 1966
  • Modernes Theater auf kleinen Bühnen
    TV Series
    • Writer (as Le Roi Jones)
    • 1964

Actor



  • Warren Beatty in Bulworth (1998)
    Bulworth
    6.8
    • Rastaman
    • 1998

Additional Crew



  • Harry Belafonte and Isaac Hayes in Nationtime (1972)
    Nationtime
    7.2
    • poetry (as Imamu Amiri Baraka)
    • 1972

Videos8

Theatrical Version
Trailer 2:12
Theatrical Version
William S. Burroughs: A Man Within
Trailer 1:41
William S. Burroughs: A Man Within
William S. Burroughs: A Man Within
Trailer 1:41
William S. Burroughs: A Man Within
Obscene: Theatrical Trailer
Trailer 3:18
Obscene: Theatrical Trailer
Motherland
Trailer 2:48
Motherland
500 YEARS LATER
Trailer 2:35
500 YEARS LATER
Motherland - A film by Owen Alik Shahadah
Trailer 2:41
Motherland - A film by Owen Alik Shahadah

Personal details

  • Official site
    • Dis/Patches
  • Alternative names
    • Imamu Amiri Baraka
  • Born
    • October 7, 1934
    • Newark, New Jersey, USA
  • Died
    • January 9, 2014
    • Newark, New Jersey, USA(undisclosed)
  • Spouses
      Amina BarakaAugust 1966 - January 9, 2014 (his death, 5 children)
  • Children
      Lisa Jones
  • Parents
      Coyt Leroy Jones
  • Relatives
    • Kimako Baraka(Sibling)
  • Other works
    His play, "The Dutchman," was performed at the Chicago Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois with Alexander Cichon and Howard Stratton.
  • Publicity listings
    • 3 Articles

Did you know

  • Trivia
    Biography and bibliography in "Contemporary Authors," New Revision Series, Vol. 133, pp. 54-64. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2005.

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