Tales of the Out & the Gone

Controversial literary legend Amiri Baraka’s new short story collection―anEssence Magazinebest-seller―will shock and awe.

“Baraka is a poet down to his bones . . . [The stories] evoke a mood of revolutionary disorder, conjuring an alternative universe in which a dangerous African-American underground, or a dangerous literary underground―hell, any kind of an underground―still exists . . . In his prose as in his poetry, Baraka is at his best a lyrical prophet of despair who transfigures his contentious racial and political views into a transcendent, ‘outtelligent’ clarity.” ―New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice

“These stories are so out there that at times they leave you wondering what you just read, but in a good, this is how a truly singular voice sounds way . . . The difficulty and strength of Baraka’s writing is its sincerity. It is the memory of all that has passed, reflecting all he has seen and been told . . .” ―San Francisco Chronicle

Comprising short fiction spanning the early 1970s to the twenty-first century―most of which has never been published―Tales of the Out & the Gone reflects the astounding evolution of America’s most provocative literary anti-hero.

The first section of the book, "War Stories," offers six stories enmeshed in the volatile politics of the ’70s and ’80s; the second section, Tales of the Out & the Gone, reveals Baraka’s increasing literary adventurousness, combining an unpredictable language play with a passion for abstraction and psychological exploration.

Throughout, Baraka’s unique and constantly changing literary style will educate readers on the evolution of one of America’s most accomplished literary masters of the past four decades.

Amiri Baraka/LeRoi Jones (1934?2014) was the author of numerous books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. He was named poet laureate of New Jersey by the New Jersey Commission for the Humanities, from 2002?2004. His short story collection Tales of the Out & the Gone (Akashic Books) was a New York Times Editors' Choice and won a 2008 PEN/Beyond Margins Award. He is also the author of Home: Social Essays, Black Music, and Tales, among other works.