doi:10.7916/d8-9fpp-2g79Amiri Baraka: Who Speaks English in America?, 02/06/97Baraka, Amiri, 1934-2014sound recordingssound recordingBlack English"Part lecture, part poetry reading, part question-and-answer session, this animated performance recalls Lenny Bruce when his comedy shtick had turned political and serious. Making its way from Black language and its influence on American speech ("discovered" equals "dissed and covered," Baraka says), it ranges from American history and W.E.B. DuBois, to thoughts on the O.J. Simpson trial and commentary on visiting Atlanta during the 1996 Olympics. Like a jazz musician, Baraka's presentation is dynamic, featuring different voices and modulation. It's also vernacular, punctuated frequently by "y'understan' what I mean?" Recorded on February 6, 1997, at the University of Maine, Orono, it includes several provocative short poems of a genre Baraka refers to as "low-ku"."--MSRRT Newsletter, Library alternatives, July/August 1997 v.10#4