Poetry as a Form of Dissent: John F. Kennedy, Amiri Baraka, and the Politics of Art in Rhetorical Democracy

Abstract

Rhetoric and poetics have a long historical relationship; however, there is a dearth of literature in contemporary rhetorical studies that analyzes poems as forms of democratic dissent. This article begins with an assessment of John F. Kennedy’s eulogy of Robert Frost, followed with an analysis of Amiri Baraka’s “Black Art,” a poem that both supports and challenges Kennedy’s defense of poetry. Ultimately, this paper makes an argument for why critics might pay closer attention to poetry as both a medium for expressing dissenting messages and as an example of how language play itself can function as valuable democratic dissent.

This article contains excerpt from S O S: POEMS 1961–2013, copyright @ 2014 by The Estate of Amiri Baraka. Used by permission of Grove/Atlantic, Inc. Any third party use of this material, outside of this publication, is prohibited.

Notes

1. ¹The authors thank RR reviewers David Holmes and M. Jimmie Killingsworth for their insightful feedback on early versions of this essay. The authors would also like to thank editor Theresa Enos for her guidance throughout the publication process.

2. ²The rhetoric of the manifesto, as illustrated in this poem, shares much with the rhetoric of two essays in particular: “The Revolutionary Theatre” (1964) and “STATE/MEANT” (1965), both of which are found in Home: Social Essays (1966; 2009). The essays use repetition (“The Revolutionary Theatre should force change. … The Revolutionary Theater must EXPOSE!”) and hyperbolic language; they also make radical choices in terms of typography, punctuation, and grammar, all of which are used to incite readers to act on Baraka’s exhortations rather than simply read about them. “Black Art” makes use of similar techniques, but does so through poetic means.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jeffrey St. Onge

Jeffrey St. Onge is Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Defiance College. His scholarship focuses on rhetoric, democracy, and public culture more broadly. He has recently had work published in the Western Journal of Communication and Studies in American Humor. He is currently working on a book about the history of health care debates in the United States.

Jennifer Moore

Jennifer Moore is Assistant Professor of Poetry at Ohio Northern University. She is the author of the forthcoming book of poetry The Veronica Maneuver (University of Akron Press). Her poems have appeared in American Letters & Commentary, Best New Poets, Memorious, Barrow Street, and elsewhere. Her criticism has appeared in Jacket2 and The Offending Adam.