By Chas Newhouse

Ishmael Reed is a popular novelist and poet who was born in 1938 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Ishmael spent most of his childhood in Buffalo, New York. Reed attended college in New York but unfortunately, due to financial problems he was unable to complete his degree. Although Ishmael was unable to continue his collegiate education, he still stayed around the campus and wrote freelance articles for a local newspaper. Along with his article writing Ishmael also co-hosted a local radio show, which was eventually taken off of the air after having controversial African American speaker Malcolm X as a guest. Ishmael Reed played a major role in the progression in the Black Arts Movement. (Gates) Throughout the 1950’s and the 1960’s Ishmael was able to publish a variety of novels and collections of poetry. Ishmael was even nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for one of his works.(Wikipedia) Ishmael is well known for his controversial and satirical texts that always pushed the bar of what was socially acceptable for African American writers of that time. (Enotes)

One poem that we discussed briefly in class is a poem written by Ishmael Reed titled, I am a Cowboy in the Boat of Ra. I found this to be an extremely interesting piece of poetry because Ishmael included a lot of Egyptian mythology, and mythology has always been something that has interested me. A quote from this poem reads, “I am a cowboy in the boat of Ra. Boning-up in/ the ol West I bide my time. You should see/ me pick off these tin cans whippersnappers. I/ write the Motown long plays for the comeback of / Osiris. Make them up when stars stare at sleeping/ steer out here near the campfire. Women arrive/ on the backs of goats and throw themselves on/ my Bowie.” (Gates) I really loved this poem because Ishmael Reed does an amazing job with his imagery and metaphors. His wording made it really easy for me to picture and his wordplay made it enjoyable for me to read.

Works Cited

(1993), Spring. “Ishmael Reed.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 06 May 2011. .

Gates, Henry Louis., and Nellie Y. McKay. “Ishmael Reed.” The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2004. 2051-053.

“Ishmael (Scott) Reed Criticism.” ENotes – Literature Study Guides, Lesson Plans, and More.Web. 06 May 2011. .