ABSTRACT
Known primarily as an experimental novelist, Ishmael Reed isalso a talented poet. Like his novels, many of Reed's poems are satirical. The New York art scene, the American academy, the East Coast literary establishment, critics, and even other poets are all fair game for Reed's acerbic wit. To his credit, Reed's poetry is not merely critical; it is affirmative. Reed's poems celebrate African-American folk culture (particularly hoodoo and the blues), histories of the American West (native, black, Hispanic, and Anglo), and more obscure facets of Americana. Through his work as a writer and editor, Reed was one of the earliest advocates of multiculturalism and canon revision in literary studies. Although much of Reed's poetry is sardonic and antagonistic, he has also written many imaginative and under-appreciated love poems.
