The School of English hosted the Amiri Baraka Retrospective conference at the Institute of Contemporary Arts on 12 April, 2014.
The conference considered and critiqued one of the most important writers and influential cultural figures of the twentieth century. The event was initially planned to be an academic celebration of Baraka’s 80th birthday but sadly, weeks before the event, Baraka passed away. Re-imagined as a retrospective, the event was a huge success, attracting an international cohort of academics presenting as we sold out the 200-capacity venue for both conference and evening performance. Panels discussed topics ranging from Baraka’s early poetry publishing ventures to his engagement with black music and his political activities of the 1970s, finishing proceedings with a compelling keynote from Paul Gilroy. The evening was a fitting tribute to the writer’s career, with a number of internationally renowned readers including Linton Kwesi Johnson and Sean Bonney. The event attracted a wide range of attendees – including members of the public, students from Kent, and respected academics.
(Image courtesy of Celeste Bateman & Associates, LLC)