Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to African American Theatre
- Cambridge Companions to Theatre and Performance
- The Cambridge Companion to African American Theatre
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Chronology
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Slavery, Performance, and the Design of African American Theatre
- Chapter 2 Slave Rebellions on the National Stage
- Chapter 3 Early Black Americans on Broadway
- Chapter 4 Drama in the Harlem Renaissance
- Chapter 5 The Negro Little Theatre Movement
- Chapter 6 Black Women Dramatists, 1930–1960
- Chapter 7 Amiri Baraka and the Black Arts Movement
- Chapter 8 Fragmented Musicals and 1970s Soul Aesthetic
- Chapter 9 Spectacles of Whiteness from Adrienne Kennedy to Suzan-Lori Parks
- Chapter 10 African American Performance and Community Engagement
- Chapter 11 Women Playwrights Who Cross Cultural Borders
- Chapter 12 African Diaspora Drama
- Chapter 13 Black Theatre in the Age of Obama
- Chapter 14 Staging Black Lives Matter
- Chapter 15 Contemporary Black Queer Drama
- Chapter 16 African American Dance Theatre
- Index
Chapter 7 - Amiri Baraka and the Black Arts Movement
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 June 2023
- The Cambridge Companion to African American Theatre
- Cambridge Companions to Theatre and Performance
- The Cambridge Companion to African American Theatre
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Chronology
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Slavery, Performance, and the Design of African American Theatre
- Chapter 2 Slave Rebellions on the National Stage
- Chapter 3 Early Black Americans on Broadway
- Chapter 4 Drama in the Harlem Renaissance
- Chapter 5 The Negro Little Theatre Movement
- Chapter 6 Black Women Dramatists, 1930–1960
- Chapter 7 Amiri Baraka and the Black Arts Movement
- Chapter 8 Fragmented Musicals and 1970s Soul Aesthetic
- Chapter 9 Spectacles of Whiteness from Adrienne Kennedy to Suzan-Lori Parks
- Chapter 10 African American Performance and Community Engagement
- Chapter 11 Women Playwrights Who Cross Cultural Borders
- Chapter 12 African Diaspora Drama
- Chapter 13 Black Theatre in the Age of Obama
- Chapter 14 Staging Black Lives Matter
- Chapter 15 Contemporary Black Queer Drama
- Chapter 16 African American Dance Theatre
- Index
Summary
Aimee Zygmonski provides a close reading of Amiri Baraka’s play Dutchman followed by a study of the creation of his Black Arts Repertory Theatre to provide an insider perspective into the development of the Black Arts Movement. Her study of Baraka’s racial and political awakening as represented in the increasing self-awareness of his character Clay allows her to identify emergent themes that would eventually inform “the Movement.” Although the Black Arts Movement did not last long, Zygmonski asserts that the awakened consciousness that resulted from this flurry of activity “reverberate[s]” in the works of more contemporary and present-day artists.
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- Information
- The Cambridge Companion to African American Theatre , pp. 138 - 156Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023