Contemporary African American Theater: Afrocentricity in the Works of Larry Neal, Amiri Baraka, and Charles FullerThe Black Arts Movement was sparked by the Civil Rights movement and the urge to produce and revitalize functional, realistic, and holistic symbols to express African American creativity. When Larry Neal began his quest for a new dramatic form to epitomize African American self-determination he laid the foundation upon which his friends and compatriots-Amiri Baraka and Charles Fuller-would build. Expressing their individual protests through their writings, these artists soon united in their attack against Eurocentrism, which traditionally minimized or neglected the roles played by Africans and African Americans on the world stage. Their writings signaled a radical change in the form and content of African American writing, particularly drama. In this insightful examination of African American cultural history, the author explores the heart of the dramatic imagination of African Americans during the turbulent years of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. The analysis of the works of these three important dramatists reveals the roots of an Afrocentric approach to the theater, and introduces a new methodology for exploring Afrocentrism that is particularly suited to classes in African American drama and literature.? |
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Contemporary African American Theater: Afrocentricity in the Works of Larry ... Nilgun Anadolu-Okur No preview available - 2011 |
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A.B. Spellman African American culture African American drama African American experience African American literature African American theater African-centered Afrocentric Afrocentric Idea Amiri Baraka Arts Movement Writings audience BART/S Black Aesthetic black artists Black Arts movement Black Literature Black Mass Black Power Black Theater movement black writer Black Writer's Role blues Carter Harrison characters Charles Fuller Clay committed Company consciousness contemporary African American context critical Davenport Dutchman Egyptian Ellison's essay Eurocentric Eurocentric negations festival Harlem human Ibid impact Jacoub Kawaida Larry Neal LeRoi Jones Liberated Future literary Lula lyrical Malcolm Malcolm X Maulana Karenga Molefi Kete Asante Molette murder myth nation Neal's Negro Nommo oppression Paul Carter Harrison perspective Philadelphia playwright poems poet poetry political reality revolution Revolutionary Theater rhythm sense Sergeant Waters Shammy sixties Slave social Soldier's Play spirit stage stereotypical symbolic Temple Thunder's Mouth Press tradition transformation vision Walker Western word York Zooman