First associated with the Beat writers while still in his twenties, AMIRI BARAKA came to national attention with the 1964 production of his Obie Award-winning play Dutchman (written under the name LeRoi Jones). A leader in the Black Arts movement in the 1960s, his own poems and plays continue to confront political and social issues, testifying to his commitment to art that “can educate as well as titillate.” The author of fifteen volumes of poetry, including Transbluesency: The Selected Poems of Amiri Baraka/LeRoi Jones, 1961-1995 and Funk Lore: New Poems, 1984-1995, more than twenty plays, seven volumes of nonfiction, and a novel, Baraka is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations and the Langston Hughes Award. He was recently inducted into The American Academy of Arts and Letters and was awarded the James Weldon Johnson Medal for contributions to the Arts. He lives with his wife, the poet and artist Amina Baraka, in his native Newark.