Amiri Baraka was, and continues to be, a very influential figure in African
American history. His poems and plays are captivating and always have a strong
message to deliver. One particular poem that stands out is "Wailers," and how he uses the word as play on the story Moby
Dick
and the legendary Bob Marley.
This poem paid a tribute to Bob Marley, and how he as a
performer and musician changed the world with his ‘wailing.’ Baraka uses Marley’s
lyrics as a way to symbolize his understanding for the way people live their
lives. “Hail to you Bob, man! We will ask your question all our lives. Could
You Be Loved? I and I understand."
Bob Marley fits into this poem in a variety of ways while
Baraka plays on the words "wail" and "whale." Wailers was not only the name of his
band, but it also serves as a verb, because that is exactly what they did. They
wailed about oppression, love, and pain as an expression of what the common (Black) man experiences, which can be compared to the story about the whale,
that “hummed”, or ‘sang’ in the sea.
On the other hand, Baraka mentions the whalers that kill
whales and “… get on top of a whale and wail." This is where the
connection to Bob Marley is made. He also references Herman Melville, the
author of Moby Dick, and his battles with “the huge mad white beast.”
This clever word play not only makes this poem a great read,
but shows how two completely different things can be so similar in such a
subtle way. The way the hit song from Uprising was
incorporated, was perhaps the best part of the poem, in my opinion. Baraka found a
way to tie in all the different components and make them one unique and meaningful poem.
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Mario Providence is a student at North Harris College.
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