Larry Neal

Larry Neal, a prolific activist, writer, poet, and scholar is particularly notable for his work in the 1960’s-70’s, when he was based out of Harlem. The Black Arts movement, which was well under way at this time, derived it’s name from Neal’s 1968 essay of this same title. What I particularly appreciate about Neals writing is his ability to integrate artists and elements of a variety of different artistic genres into his prose. He gracefully manages to use music, prominent figures, and songs of the african american culture to illustrate his message in poems such as, ‘Harlem Gallery: From the Inside,’ ‘Don’t Say Goodbye to the Porkpie Hat,’ and others.
“Do we need the Miracles or a miracle?” Neal writes, referencing Smokey Robinson Jr.’s famous rhythm-and-blues song from Motown records. He is integrating the music and soul of the African American community into poetry in a very unique and innovative way, that seems to pave the way for a new style of writing that is no longer limited solely to its own form.

Much of Neal’s political and social philosophies can be gleaned from his poetry and prose.

“..But everything ain’t
all right, the would-be
warriors of the nitty-gritty snap fingers,
ghosts boogaloo against this haze
Malcolm eyes in the yellow glow;
Blood on black hands,
Compacted rooms of gloom;
Garvey’s flesh in the rat’s teeth..”

Larry Neal incorporates references to the racial injustices and the leaders of movements who are fighting for change, referencing them as the ‘warriors of the nitty-gritty.’ He expresses his alignments with ideas of such prominent leaders as Malcolm X and Marcus Garvey, black nationalist founder of the U.N.I.A. His poems observe and simultaneously confront the injustices and grievances of the African American struggle. His integration of all of these other figures and elements of culture support the claim that he is an advocate for “the ‘dissolution’ of the Western focus on individual identity,” and strongly “opposes himself to any element of the artist that alienates him from his community” (Henry Louis Gates, Jr.).