American Literature

The writings of Amiri Baraka and Allen Ginsberg represent two aspectsof tensions
 which were ongoing in American Literature. Barakas (also known as LeRoi
Jones)writings are a reflection of racial tension, and Ginsbergs response tends to border
on nostalgia.In supportof the two previous statements concerning Baraka and Ginsberg
one can examine the poem In Memory of Radio, by Amiri Baraka, which pokes fun
at  popular white personalities represented in the media. His reason for this is to
asserthis dissatisfaction with the status quo which at the time of this writing was,
basically, the white middle class.Ginsbergs poem, A Supermarket in California, in
contrast to Barakas poem, tries to re-establish and justify the old way.

Furthermore, if we take a look attwo other poets, i.e., James Merril and James
Wright, who also wrote during this period, we find evidence that ongoing  tension in
American Literature varied from one poet to another.James Merril was a product of a
wealthyelite,and James Wright wasa product of the working class both, however, were
white poets. Also, these poets further the contention that subject matter used in poetry
 writing boils down to individual perspective.

Every literary advocate is the consequence of his own particular social
environment, and what he writes about, inevitably, concerns his personal response to
personal experiences. Of course, the poet may write about the broader issue which may
not have anything to do with his personal experience like Wright who was from the
working class, yet he wrote about the underdog in American society. Merrils concern,
 also, took his poetic response outside his class.

Amiri Barakaand Simon Ortiz, obviously, havegenuine concerns along the
ethnic lines where poetic tensions tend to move toward issues revolving around
 ethnicities. In thecase of Baraka it deals with the plightof blackAmericans, and with
 Simon Ortiz, it becomes a case with the native American. This is not a peculiar event.
 In fact,thishas beenevident in literature since antiquity. Euripides in ancient Greece,
Shakespeare in Elizabethan England, and Molier inFrance represent just a few creative
writerswho challenged social trends.