Amiri Baraka

Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note
Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones)

Lately, I’ve become accustomed to the way
The ground opens up and envelopes me
Each time I go out to walk the dog.
Or the broad edged silly music the wind
Makes when I run for a bus…
Things have come to that.

And now, each night I count the stars.
And each night I get the same number.
And when they will not come to be counted,
I count the holes they leave.

Nobody sings anymore.

And then last night I tiptoed up
To my daughter’s room and heard her
Talking to someone, and when I opened
The door, there was no one there…
Only she on her knees, peeking into

Her own clasped hands

Explorations of the text

question 1

Baraka is one with the persona of the poem. In a confessional tone, he meditates upon his own existence and renders a number of observations associated with apparently daily actions of domestic life. The poet first describes becoming “accustomed to the way/ The ground opens up and envelopes” him as he is engaged in such a mundane activity as walking his dog. Immediately, there is a mood of repetition, the recurrence of daily chores or duties, but these actions are linked to more complex psychological states—the sensation of the “ground” opening up—and are beyond expected expressions of boredom connected to numbing repetition.

question 2

The daughter’s praying represents hope despite obstacles and sadness in the life of the speaker.  It gave me pleasure to see that a small gesture can overcome those negative parts of life, no matter what they might be.  The tone of the poem also seemed to change when he saw this.

question 3
The title poem of the volume introduces the recurring themes of despair, alienation, and self-deprecation. “Preface to a Twenty-Volume Suicide Note”
This poem is likely a reflection of the poet’s own concerns and personal experiences filled with images of the stultifying life of convention and respectability. The speaker is struggling with the issues of sadness and hopelessness.The feelings I had while reading this poem possessed sorrow, depression, but hope as well.

question 6
 I believe the intended meaning of this poem is to show the readers that there’s depression inside this parent, but there’s one thing that’s holding them to this earth. In this story there is a parent, a child, and GOD. The parent is saying to herself and GOD she doesn’t want to be alive. The child is probably praying that her mother is okay, and the child is also telling her mother that no matter how she feels she has one reason to stay alive. The child didn’t actually say any words , but through her presence and body language it tells it all.