The Political Poetry of Le Roi Jones (Amiri Baraka) and Mudhafar Al- Nawwab: a Comparative Perspective

This paper critically examines selected texts from the political poetry of the African American poet, Le Roi Jones (Amiri Baraka) and the dissident Iraqi poet, Mudhafar Al-Nawwab, in order to underline the radical aesthetics operative in their poetry and emphasize their condemnation of the hegemonic forces which attempted to dominate the African American community and the Arab World. Illuminating common areas of interest that link these two poets together, the paper explores their attitudes toward the aggressive and inhuman policies advocated by racist and repressive agencies in the United States and the Arab World which sought to brutalize their nations. The paper also illustrates their points of view toward major issues such as oppression, struggle, and identity, in addition to their efforts to revolutionize the collective consciousness of African American and Arab people at times of national crises and political turmoil.