Jerry W. Ward, Amiri Baraka, Black poetry studies

Amiri Baraka and Jerry W. Ward, Jr. September 2004, Furious Flower Conference (Virginia)

In September 2004, I attended Furious Flower II. I saw and learned so much. All kinds of great moments. But here's one that stands out to me now. I snapped the above blurry image of Amiri Baraka and Jerry W. Ward, Jr. conversing. 

We lost Ward on February 8. This image captures Baraka, one of the poets who I've written and thought about more than most, and Dr. Ward, one of the scholars who's shaped my thinking on Black poetry, more than others. 

For me, there's Cultural Front, no articles on Black poetry, no career in this thing called African American literary studies without Dr. Ward. 

Related:

• A Notebook on Jerry W. Ward, Jr.