by Peter Bruck
form o f wealt h an d possibl e socia l preferment ; th e kin d h e woul d
later rejec t i n hi s essa y "Tokenism : 30 0 Year s fo r Fiv e Cents." 6
Education mean t fo r th e intelligen t blac k th e opportunit y o f
joining th e growin g rank s o f th e blac k middle-class , i t als o repre -
sented, in Baraka's view, a temporar y alienatio n fro m traditiona l
black values:
And i n thi s clas s sat 30 dreary son s and daughters of such circumstance.
Specifically, the thriving children of the thriving urban lower middle clas-
ses. Postmen's sons and factory-worker debutantes . Making a great run for
America, now prosperity and the war had silenced for a time the intelligent
cackle of tradition, (p. 6)
Although Baraka was proud t o note suc h tradition a s there was still
188
to b e foun d i n hi s famil y — h e recall s a class photograph o f hi s
mother who m h e imagine s surrounde d b y angels , "carryin g lif e
from ou r ancestors " — h e ha d t o loo k elsewher e fo r sign s o f a
living blac k tradition. 7 Eve n th e loca l Baptis t churc h Baraka
attended a s a bo y ha d t o impor t spiritua l group s fro m outside ,
while a t Graham' s th e "historie s an d rhythms " (p . 73 ) o f jaz z
spoke t o bu t a few , an d the n onl y t o th e poor , no t th e futur e
middle-class black:
And these carefully scrubbe d childre n o f my parent's friends fattene d o n
their rhythms until they could join the Urban League or Household Finance
and hound the poor for their honesty, (p. 74)
The mora l ambivalenc e experience d b y a n aspirin g blac k woul d
meet Baraka at ever y stag e o f hi s early career . Eac h ste p forwar d
on th e socia l scal e migh t becom e a ste p furthe r awa y fro m hi s
racial identity.
A fulle r realizatio n o f thi s cam e naturall y enoug h late r i n
Baraka's educational career . Accordin g t o Baraka, it wa s his stay
at Howar d Universit y tha t reall y "shocke d m e into realizin g how
desperately sic k th e Negr o could be." 8 Perhap s it would be point-
less t o giv e an y precis e dat e t o Baraka's perception o f th e mora l
ambiguities surroundin g th e blac k colleg e student , bu t hi s stor y
"The Alternative " fro m Tales reveals the narrato r a s endangered
by th e los s of hi s black culture , and at the same time alienated by
the white . Onc e more i t i s to jazz tha t Baraka returns t o expres s
the divorc e o f th e blac k middle-class fro m thei r culture . I n "Th e
Alternative," a certain Professo r Gorsu n sit s brooding over jazz in
the fine-art s building : "Goddami t none of that nigger music in my
new building . Culture . Goddamit , ladie s an d gentlemen , lin e u p
and be baptized." (p. 23)
The readines s o f th e blac k establishmen t t o sacrific e thei r
culture, as if it were artistically inferior t o western culture, was the
specific malais e Baraka was at pains to identify an d exorcise. Since
jazz i s regarde d b y Baraka as "on e o f th e fe w area s o f huma n
expression" stil l availabl e t o th e black , an d sinc e it s cultura l
integrity was untainted by a desire to compete with white literature
which ha s corrupted black fiction, jazz has been treated by Baraka
as the measure of the black tradition. 9
It i s fo r thi s reaso n tha t th e ritual s o f baptism , initiation, an d
sacrifice o r deat h for m th e structur e o f play s like The Dutchman
189
(1964), o r Black Mass (1965). Baraka has a quite different for m o f
baptism i n his head tha n Professo r Gorsun , th e guardian o f white
values. And yet the kind of clarity that the dramas display was not
so apparent to the graduate of Howard, who started life as a writer
in th e Greenwic h Villag e o f th e lat e fifties. On the one hand were
the libera l whit e poets , i n particula r th e Blac k Mountai n group ,
Olson, Creeley , an d Dorn ; on th e othe r hand , Ornett e Colemand
and Do n Cherry.10 Barak a found himsel f editin g the works of the
white literar y avant-gard e an d promotin g the new jazz at the same
time.11 Th e Greenwich Villag e years, that woul d las t unti l he left
for Harle m i n th e summe r of 1965 , were an invaluable apprentice-
ship fo r Baraka, but th e attemp t t o fre e himsel f fro m thei r moral
ambiguities i s partl y reflecte d i n th e first collectio n o f storie s
Baraka was t o publis h i n Ne w York , "A System of Dante's In-
ferno" (19 59).
It i s guilt, moral evasion , the si n o f failin g t o identif y wit h the
language an d value s o f blac k cultur e tha t characterize s Baraka's
first important contributio n t o blac k fiction. A System of Dante's
Inferno i s an early effor t b y Baraka to find a means of expressing
his blac k identit y usin g the biographica l material s o f his progress
from Newar k t o Greenwic h Village . Baraka's own early vacillation
between th e world s o f blac k an d whit e cultur e i s projecte d i n
terms o f "Th e Neutrals " whic h i s se t in Newar k an d deal s with
the Methodist church he attended with his parents:
Natives dow n th e street . Al l dead . All walkin g slowl y toward s thei r lives.
Already, each Sunday forever. 12
Baraka will repeat thes e lines years later in the conclusion to "Th e
Alternative." Th e significanc e o f thi s fac t lie s surel y i n Baraka's
seeing in hi s fiction th e right medium fo r explorin g th e them e o f
moral ambiguit y an d the related problem of black expression.
In term s of Baraka's publishing career it wa s the plays, not th e
poetry an d shor t stories , that were to make him famous. After th e
production o f Dutchman (1964) , Baraka reached a nationa l
audience. Jus t ove r a yea r late r h e brok e wit h th e Greenwic h
Village group t o all intents and purposes, and left fo r Harlem. As a
writer, hi s caree r wa s als o t o mov e fro m poe t an d shor t stor y
writer t o playwright , an d finally t o essayis t an d spokesma n fo r
black culture . Unfortunately, th e neglect of his fiction o n account
of its reliance o n private experienc e an d the difficulty o f its prose
190
style stil l leave s a considerabl e critica l gap . Th e stud y o f th e
stories, while it does not entirel y alte r ou r picture of Baraka, does
help u s t o understan d bette r th e developmen t o f hi s prose . I t
reminds u s tha t th e assertiv e styl e o f hi s essays on blac k expres -
sion, Home (1965 ) and Raise, Race, Raze (1969) , are but the final
product of much doubt and soul-searching.
For us , th e yea r 195 9 i s importan t t o a n understandin g o f
Baraka's beginnings as a fiction writer . In this year Baraka publishes
two essay s by Olson, "Projective Verse," and the "Letter to Elaine
Feinstein;" i t i s to b e th e star t o f a long and fruitful relationship .
Baraka's first respons e t o Olson' s ideas on expressio n "Ho w Yo u
Sound??" appeare d tha t sam e year. 13 A t first, a s Baraka's essay
makes clear , i t wa s Olson' s theorie s o n "Projectiv e Verse " tha t
attracted him
, bu t a s Olso n expande d o n thes e theme s i n hi s
cryptic an d difficul t "Lette r t o Elain e Feinstein, " th e ex-philos -
opher mino r fro m Howar d kep t pace . Baraka made goo d sense of
Olson's ideas an d turned them to his own purposes.
In th e years that followed Baraka became increasingly articulat e
on th e subjec t o f Olso n an d expressive language. So much so, that
he is far easie r t o read an d hi s ideas have a far greate r circulation
now tha n Olson's . Undoubtedly , Baraka's early interes t i n th e
relationship o f phenomenolog y t o literatur e gav e hi m unqiu e
insights int o Olson . Fo r example , th e thre e ke y idea s o n th e
writer's abilit y t o name correctly , t o place himsel f i n th e rea l
world an d t o creat e a mean s o f expressio n mor e authenti c tha n
that o f social reality Olso n derive d ultimately from Heidegge r and
phenomenology.14 Barak a began hi s essay s o n expressio n wit h
"How Yo u Sound?? " (1959) , quotin g bot h th e "Heideggeria n
Umwelt" an d Olson's , "Projectiv e Verse." 15 Late r h e woul d
simply lis t hi s influence s a s "Olson, Heidegger " an d declar e him -
self "secure d t o phenomenolog y an d religion." 16 Bu t th e mai n
bond betwee n th e tw o friend s wa s their attac k on the false values
expressed b y th e "Peopl e the poet Charles Olson called 'the pimps
of progress.'"17
We can begin discussing "The Alternative" in more simple terms,
without referenc e t o eithe r Olso n o r phenomenology. Right away
we notice tha t it is a difficult stor y to read. Such plot as we find is
interrupted b y th e narrator' s privat e sensations , his memories, his
desires. Broke n conversation s an d quotation s distrac t th e reade r
away from th e narrative. What is being said is clearly less important
191
than ho w it i s being said. The clas h betwee n languag e an d expe -
rience is deliberate. Baraka wants t o involv e us in th e conflic t o f
the differen t perceptua l world s o f th e narrato r an d hi s friends .
Ray's rejectio n o f th e languag e o f socia l realit y determines th e
plot. Thu s th e social , th e clea r logi c o f norma l pros e i s fel t in -
adequate b y Baraka. How explai n th e comple x confusio n tha t
attends the babble of tongues on this particular night in a dormitory
of Howard University ?
This becomes in many respect s th e tas k o f the narrator-hero or
"leader" a s Baraka calls him . Th e narrator , thoug h h e talk s and
acts, exists for th e reade r mor e as a state of mind. He is peculiarly
isolated fro m hi s fellows , considerin g tha t h e i s suppose d t o b e
their leader . I n fac t hi s fall i s felt t o b e imminent: "Man , we do
not nee d cat s like tha t i n th e frat . '(Agreed)'. " (p . 9) I n term s of
plot, thi s is important a s we shall see , but in this story perceptio n
is prio r t o plot . Th e mai n differenc e betwee n th e her o an d hi s
peers i s tha t the y inhabi t differen t perceptua l worlds . Thes e
different world s require different mode s of expression.
It i s th e leade r afte r all , wh o brood s o n th e meanin g Camus'
lines hav e in term s o f hi s life, not th e othe r students . I f a n alter -
native wa y o f lookin g a t one' s experience ha s to b e found , the n
this is the leader's job alone. Camus had written:
This may not see m like much, but it makes a difference. And there are
those who prefer to look their fate in the eyes. (p. 5)
Baraka uses thi s a s th e ironi c mott o o f hi s story whic h s o lacks
the "lucidity " tha t Camu s ha d hope d t o achieve . Th e familia r
existential them e i s there : a ma n mus t choose , an d h e mus t
choose a n authenti c existence. 18 Th e ide a o f authenti c identit y
does hav e relevanc e fo r blac k literature , bu t surel y Baraaka is
more intereste d i n th e problem s tha t lookin g you r fac e i n th e
eyes migh t pos e fo r a black . Quit e apar t fro m th e individua l
meaning o f Camus ' words , ho w doe s a blac k loo k a t hi s "fate, "
and mor e important , ho w woul d h e choos e t o expres s it ? I t i s
my belie f tha t "Th e Alternative " a s a whol e explore s a n alter -
native way.
Returning t o th e plot w e see the leade r unhappy an d isolated ,
facing th e prospec t o f a palace revolt. H e entertains th e pleasin g
paradox that , althoug h h e may b e though t t o lose , it is in fact his
friends wh o wil l be portrayed a s losers. The narrator' s revenge , if
192
so w e migh t cal l it , lie s i n th e writin g o f th e stor y itself . Thu s
when th e plo t develop s int o a conflic t betwee n a n ex-riva l Ric k
and Ray , th e leader , ove r whethe r th e student s shoul d g o an d
eavesdrop o n a homosexua l affai r a certai n Bobb y Hutchen s i s
having i n hi s room , i t i s Ric k wh o win s th e other s ove r to go an d
have a look . Ray' s attemp t t o sto p Ric k i s answere d b y violence ,
there is a fight, an d th e stor y end s with th e leade r o n th e floor .
If th e ke y t o th e stor y la y i n th e plot , n o mor e woul d nee d t o
be said . However , w e mus t tak e a n alternativ e view . Mos t o f th e
students ar e interpretin g thei r socia l roles . They ar e regarded wit h
frank iron y b y th e hero-narrato r a s th e heir s apparen t o f middle -
class mediocrity . A s the y stan d outsid e th e homosexua l student' s
room, shoutin g thei r facil e abuse , Ra y see s the m i n thei r futur e
roles:
Doctors, judges, first negro director of welfare chain, morticians, chemists,
ad man, fighters for civi l rights, all admirable, useful men . "BREAK THE
FUCKIN' DOOR OPEN, RICK! YEH!" (p. 28)
The suppose d mora l superiorit y o f thes e black s ove r thei r fello w
student i s belie d b y thei r irrationa l an d violen t language . Th e
fraudulent "authorit y o f th e socia l grace " (p . 15 ) tha t motivate s
all thei r action s i s characteristic o f Ric k (p . 10 ) and th e dictatoria l
floor procto r Mr . Bush. Bu t in th e cas e of Bush , this kind o f mora l
stance derive s fro m whit e wester n culture , no t fro m black . Thu s
Mr. Bus h remind s Ra y o f "Gregor y a t Canossa , raging softly i n hi s
dignity an d power. " (p . 15 )
Significantly, Ray' s onl y over t victory i s in a duel o f word s wit h
this sam e Mr . Bush . Th e student s wh o hav e bee n cookin g an d
drinking i n their room against dormitory regulations are interrupted
by Bush . Th e strang e smel l mad e b y th e por k chop s that ar e no w
burning th e wast e pape r i n th e baske t wher e the y hav e bee n
hidden, i s plausibl y explaine d awa y b y th e leader. Bus h begins his
rebuke t o th e student s a s follows :
"What ar e you running here, a boy's club?" (That's it.) He could narrow
his eye s eve n i n tha t affluence . Pu t hi s hands o n hi s hips. Shov e tha t
stomach at you as proof he was an authority of the social grace ... a western
man, no matter the color of his skin. (pp. 15-16)
Ray quickl y analyse s bot h th e impor t o f Bush' s word s an d th
e
gestures tha t accompan y hi s performance . Ra y understand s t o
193
which worl d thi s languag e belongs . Bush's words derive from wha t
Baraka had calle d i n "Expressiv e Language " "th e semanti c ritual s
of power, " b y whic h whit e societ y project s it s imag e an d enforce s
its will. 19 Bush' s succes s a t Howar d i s a measur e o f ho w wel l h e
can appropriat e th e whit e code . Bush , unlik e Ray , i s busily trans -
lating himsel f int o thi s othe r worl d wher e blac k value s get turne d
upside down . Ray' s ow n visio n o f th e mora l conflic t tha t order s
the actio n o f thi s evenin g i s expresse d earl y o n i n th e story . Th e
leader's allegianc e i s t o th e street s o f Ne w York , an d i n particula r
to th e memor y o f hi s friend , th e strugglin g jaz z saxophonist ,
Jimmy Lassiter . Ray' s memor y o f Lassite r keep s aliv e in his min d
a regio n o f experience , th e othe r student s neve r kne w o r hav e
chosen t o forget :
Those blue and empty afternoon s I saw him walking at my side. Criminals
in tha t world . Complet e heroe s o f ou r time . (ad d Alle n to complete an
early splinter group. Muslim heroes with flapping pants. Raincoats. Trolley
car romances.) (p. 8)
The mora l ambiguitie s tha t resul t fro m Baraka's ironic applicatio n
of Camus ' word s fro m "Betwee n Ye s an d No, " reflec t th e antag -
onism o f th e colonize d toward s th e languag e o f th e maste r race .
When Baraka observes late r i n Tales i n hi s essa y "Words " that , a s
a writer , h e i s forced t o spea k "i n th e languag e o f a n alien Tribe, "
(p. 90 ) h e i s bu t echoin g th e crie s o f man y blac k Africa n writer s
before him . Baraka is aware , a s perhap s w e ar e not , tha t Camu s
was a bourgeois-libera l interpretin g hi s fat e i n term s o f th e super -
iority o f Europea n culture. 20
Whether o r no t Baraka was this unsympathetic t o Camus woul d
perhaps b e difficul t t o prove , tha t h e coul d identif y wit h Charle s
Olson's attac k o n th e languag e an d value s o f "th e pimp s o f pro -
gress" i n the America n establishmen t i s more openly demonstrable .
As lat e a s 196 4 i n hi s essa y "LeRo i Jone s Talking, " Baraka is