--- title: Amiri Baraka, Poet and Playwright, Dies at 79 description: Amiri Baraka, the poet and playwright who was one of the central voices in the Black Power movement, died Thursday at age 79. Baraka, who... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7115158/poet-amiri-baraka-is-dead-at-79/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-01-09T22:33:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-25T06:06:18.718Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Amiri Baraka, Poet and Playwright, Dies at 79 og:description: Amiri Baraka, the poet and playwright who was one of the central voices in the Black Power movement, died Thursday at age 79. Baraka, who... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7115158/poet-amiri-baraka-is-dead-at-79/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e16a3eba32d07f0/698a8d8f1868924f7b6cd9fa/ap640630047.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: Jones og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Amiri Baraka, Poet and Playwright, Dies at 79 twitter:description: Amiri Baraka, the poet and playwright who was one of the central voices in the Black Power movement, died Thursday at age 79. Baraka, who... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e16a3eba32d07f0/698a8d8f1868924f7b6cd9fa/ap640630047.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) # Poet Amiri Baraka Is Dead at 79 > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with Ally. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Jan 9, 2014 10:33 PM UTC  Playwright, poet and activist LeRoi Jones, whose play "Dutchman" is playing off-Broadway, is shown in New York City on June 30, 1964\. Originally named Everett LeRoi Jones, he changed his name to Imamu Ameer Baraka in 1967, and later to Amiri Baraka. (AP Photo) Playwright, poet and activist LeRoi Jones, whose play "Dutchman" is playing off-Broadway, is shown in New York City on June 30, 1964\. Originally named Everett LeRoi Jones, he changed his name to Imamu Ameer Baraka in 1967, and later to Amiri Baraka. (AP Photo) ASSOCIATED PRESS—AP1964 by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Jan 9, 2014 10:33 PM UTC Amiri Baraka, the poet and playwright who was one of the central voices in the Black Power movement, died Thursday at age 79. Baraka, who once went by the moniker Leroi Jones, was also the Poet Laureate of New Jersey from 2002-2003, the _Star Ledger_ [reports. ](http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2014/01/hold%5Fhold%5Fhold%5Famiri%5Fbaraka%5Fformer%5Fnj%5Fpoet%5Flaureate%5Fand%5Fprolific%5Fauthor%5Fdead%5Fat%5F79.html) Baraka was known for his social criticism, and used his plays and [poetry ](http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/amiri-baraka)to confront Americans with the plight of black Americans in the 50s and 60s. He rubbed shoulders with beat poets Allan Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac in the Greenwich Village avant-garde movement before moving to Harlem in the 1960s, where he became a Black Nationalist. His most famous play, _Dutchman_, about a white woman and a black man who vent their hatred on the New York subway, was produced off-Broadway in 1964\. He later distanced himself from Black Nationalism and became a Marxist in the 1970s. Baraka was also instrumental in founding the Black Arts Movement, which encouraged black artists to reject “white” standards of beauty and seek validation within their own culture. He famously wrote the controversial poem “Somebody Blew Up America” about September 11th, which elicited such a public outcry that New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey tried to remove him as state Poet Laureate. When he realized that there was no such provision to do so, the governor abolished the position. \[[_The Star Ledger_](http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2014/01/hold%5Fhold%5Fhold%5Famiri%5Fbaraka%5Fformer%5Fnj%5Fpoet%5Flaureate%5Fand%5Fprolific%5Fauthor%5Fdead%5Fat%5F79.html)\] \[[The Poetry Foundation](http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/amiri-baraka)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7115158/poet-amiri-baraka-is-dead-at-79/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7115158/poet-amiri-baraka-is-dead-at-79/"},"headline":"Poet Amiri Baraka Is Dead at 79","datePublished":"2014-01-09T22:33:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-25T06:06:18.718Z","description":"Amiri Baraka, the poet and playwright who was one of the central voices in the Black Power movement, died Thursday at age 79. 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