The Story

In 2002, Amiri Baraka was named Poet Laureate of New Jersey. In less than a year, he offended so many people the state cancelled its laureate program just to keep him out of the public eye. Now he's back in the news because his son, Ras Baraka, is running for mayor of Newark. Guest host Sean Cole remembers some of the ways in which Amiri Baraka's poetry has gotten him into trouble, and Amiri Baraka reads haikus he calls "Low Coups."