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 Haki
Madhubuti
(b.
Donald Luther Lee, 1942, Little Rock, AK)
As poet, publisher, editor and educator, Haki
R. Madhubuti serves as a pivotal figure in the development of a strong Black
literary tradition, emerging from the era of the sixties and continuing to the
present. Over the years, he has published 24 books (some under his former name,
Don L. Lee) and is one of the world’s best-selling authors of poetry and
non-fiction, with books in print in excess of 3 million. His Black Men:
Obsolete, Single, Dangerous?: The African American Family in Transition (1990)
has sold over 1,000,000 copies. His latest books are Claiming Earth: Race, Rage,
Rape, Redemption (1994), GroundWork: New and Selected Poems 1966-1996 (1996),
and HeartLove: Wedding and Love Poems 1998). Mr. Madhubuti also co-edited two
volumes of literary works from Gallery 37, Releasing the Spirit (1998), and
Describe the Moment (2000). His poetry and essays were published in over thirty
anthologies from 1997-2001. His latest book is Tough Notes: A Healing Call For
Creating Exceptional Black Men (2002).
He is a much sought-after poet and lecturer,
and has convened workshops and served as guest/keynote speaker at thousands of
colleges, universities, libraries and community centers in the U.S. and abroad.
A proponent of independent Black institutions, Mr. Madhubuti is the founder,
publisher, and chairman of the board of
Third World Press
(1967), co-founder of the Institute of Positive Education/New Concept School
(1969), and co-founder of Betty Shabazz International Charter School (1998) in
Chicago, Illinois. He is also a founder and board member of the National
Association of Black Book Publishers, a founder and chairman of the board of The
International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent, founder and
director of the National Black Writers Retreat. Currently, Haki R. Madhubuti is
the Distinguished University Professor, founder and director emeritus of the
Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing and director
of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program at Chicago State
University.
Photo credit Troy Johnson, AALBC.com (2001)
 Liberation
Narratives: New and Collected Poems: 1966-2009
Click to order via
Amazon
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Third World Press (September 30, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0883782898
ISBN-13: 978-0883782897
Spanning a long career, these poems helped define and sustain a movement
that added music and brash street language to traditional poetics. Like
Amiri Barka (aka LeRoi Jones), this poet and social activist has long
combined the personal and the political by adding anger, activism, and
outsider art to well-crafted poems. Spoken-word poetry (which recently
garnered the author a Grammy nomination) and "message" poetry aimed at
community healing are innovations in the later works, and as a whole the
poems provide an overview of emerging black culture as they borrow language
from black consciousness, hip-hop, political speeches, and motivational
talks. |
 Yellow
Black: The First Twenty-One Years of a
Poets's Life
Click to order via Amazon
ISBN: 0883782618
Format: Hardcover, 253pp
Pub. Date: June 2005
Publisher: Third World Press
Haki Madhubuti weaves this painful and uplifting story in
the only way he knows how: through the music of words. Madhubuti uses prose,
poetry and the beautiful free jazz flow of words to include the memorable
events, people and places that were a part of his early life.
He has stated, "The role of the Black intellectual is not
only to understand the text, but also to write his/her version of the story,
to teach the young positive objectives of life, to be involved at a
community level -where theory is often never tested- in making a real and
substantive, long term change in the lives of those who are truly
suffering." |
 Run Toward Fear: New
Poems and a Poet’s Handbook
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by Haki R. Madhubuti
ISBN: 0883782650
Format: Paperback, 80pp
Pub. Date: June 2004
Read an AALBC.com Review
Haki R. Madhubuti minces no words in Run Toward Fear, a powerful new collection
of poetry. Run Toward Fear offers readers a mixture of poems that challenge and
cause both reflection and question on many of the headline issues that have
launched this century. Madhubuti includes poignant moving tributes to Jacob
Carruthers, Gwendolyn Brooks
and Amiri Baraka, as well as,
heartfelt words that provide comfort and guidance to the families of the
twenty-one who lost their lives in Chicago’s E-2 night club tragedy.
Madhubuti, motivated by constant requests from younger poets and teachers of
poetry to share his insights on writing and the art of producing poetry, offers
an added extra in Run Toward Fear. The final section of the book, “A Poet’s
Handbook, provides personal and sometimes anecdotal insights on the craft of
writing poetry. The “Handbook” serves as a practical answer to the book’s final
poem “For the Consideration of Poets.”
“Again and again, Haki R. Madhubuti gives us necessary words that shine
bright light in challenging times”
—Elizabeth Alexander |
 Tough Notes: Letters to Young Black Men
Click to order via Amazon
Format: Hardcover, 150pp.
ISBN: 0883782367
Publisher: Third World Press
Pub. Date: May 2002
From the Preface
...The most pressing reason for Tough Notes is my personal response to the
hundreds of letters, notes and telephone calls I have received over the
years from prisoners and students -- mainly young black men (many without
caring or existing fathers), seeking guidance and a kind word. This
work is for them and other young men and women systematically locked out
of this nation's wealth, benefits and opportunities.
A Call to Men...
...At all times, Black men need to think and reevaluate where they are as
men, co-workers, lovers, husbands, fathers and brothers in a healthy and
developmental manner. This requires work, serious study and a
profound commitment to quality relationships at all levels of human
interaction. |
  Groundwork:
Selected Poems of Haki R. Madhubuti Don L. Lee (1966-1996)
Click to order via Amazon
by Haki R. Madhubuti ISBN: 0883781727
Format: Hardcover, 356pp
Pub. Date: June 2000
Publisher: Third World Press
Haki Madhubuti is one of the foremost Black poets and has
been in the vanguard of Black letters for more than 25 years. He has perfected
the ability to combine politics and poetry in a powerful and unique style that
is both accessible and profound. GroundWork: Selected Poems from 1966-1996 is a
landmark collection of Madhubuti's poetic vision for and critique of
African-Americans and American society as a whole. From "But He Was Cool" and
"One Sided Shoot-out" to "White People are People Too" and "Too Many of Our
Young are Dying", GroundWork is a compendium of verse that is both thoughtful,
memorable, and represents some of the best work in a generation of American
poets of any color. -- Midwest Book Review
|
 Haki is
also included on the
Jazz Poetry Kafe: The BlackWords Compilation CD
http://aalbc.com/jazz.htm |
IS TRUTH LIBERATING?
by Haki R. Madhubuti
if it is truth that binds
why are there
so many lies between
lovers?
if it is truth that is liberating
why
are people told:
they look good when they don't
they are loved when they aren't
everything is fine when it ain't
glad you're back when you're not.
Black people in america
may not be made for the truth
we wrap our lives in disco
and sunday sermons
while
selling false dreams to our children.
lies
are refundable,
can be bought on our revolving
charge cards as
we all catch truth
on the next go round
if
it doesn't hurt.
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