An Agony. As Now.

At the time of the publication of “An Agony. As Now.,” Baraka was associated with Umbra, a collective of young, Black writers living in New York. It included Baraka, Ishmael Reed, Cecil Taylor, Steve Caon, and Tom Dent, among others. This group was one of the first radical, post-Civil Rights groups who made a cultural impact. They were successful at creating a distinct style that was often at odds with white literary establishments and standards. The group held workshops and published Umbra Magazine. They sought to merge art and politics, but disagreements over these issues caused the group to split. This group is seen as a predecessor to the Black Arts Movement (BAM).

The evolution of radical black art also drew upon the Harlem Renaissance that occurred during the 1920s and early 1930s. Langston Hughes, one of the most notable poets of the time, argued for Black writers to have more control of their art and that artists can achieve greatness only by embracing their Blackness. While this explosion of Black art and pride echoes BAM, the Harlem Renaissance did not take many radical political stances or explicitly call for radical political change.

“An Agony. As Now.” reflects many of the emerging themes in Baraka’s canon. Within months of publishing this poem, Baraka began his work that would lead to the establishment of the Black Arts Movement (BAM). The movement grew to include many artists such as Larry Neal, Nikki Giovanni, Gwendolyn Brooks, Haki R. Madhubuti, Sun Ra, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, Ishmael Reed, and Sonia Sanchez.

BAM was an artistic movement of the mid 1960s through the 1970s. It primarily influenced poetry, theater, and music. The group sought to create new Black cultural institutions, advocate for Black pride, and redefine art and success in Black terms. The more extreme artists like Baraka sought to use art to make radical political change in addition to social and cultural change. Baraka’s major contributions include the creation of the BARTS theatrical space, the publication of the poem “Black Art,” and the publication of the essay “The Revolutionary Theatre”

The Black Arts Movement, although short, is essential to the history of the United States. It spurred political activism and use of speech throughout every African American community. It allowed African Americans the chance to express their voices in the mass media as well as become involved in communities.

One major effect of this movement was the inclusion of new voices in American literature, as it had been predominantly white until this point. In poetry, the use of the African American vernacular dialect became more prominent. This movement spurred both political and artistic change.