IN A TIME OF REVOLUTION

by Walter.--Ed. Lowenfels ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 16, 1969

Having brightened Doubleday's corner with The Writing on the Wall (p. 644) Mr. Lowenfels now anthologizes for Random House--and admirably. This time he takes as a base movements and directions from the ""Third World"" as expressed most forcefully in recent Afro-American poetry. Although one cannot agree with Mr. Lowenfels that publication of current black poetry in anthologies is at the lowest ebb, certainly he has brought forth a remarkable collection. There is a hard honesty of content, a strong Contemporary, lacerating beat as in Wesley Day's And You Know It: ""And you know it/ and you know it/ and yes, you know it . . . we saw it all; and we can tell everybody about it. . . ."" The montage of American debris is the indictment of a clean rage: ""The bum buys another bottle; the Church is bombed, the lie is told./ Witches are burned, and the magic of the new man/ miles davis its way into beauty."" (clarence Major, American Setup). Or if one listens (these poems are best read aloud), ""The Slum walks with a swagger."" (Lenox Raphael, Sidewalk Blues). Although Lowenfels started with black poets, he added other white poets who seemed to be ""swinging."" Doesn't matter really Which is which--the voices are new and prophetic.

Pub Date: Oct. 16, 1969

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1969

Categories: NONFICTION