“…The struggle of black people inevitably appear in an intensely cultural form because the social formation in which their distinct political traditions are now manifest has constructed the arena of politics on ground overshadowed by centuries of metropolitan capitalist development, thereby denying them recognition as legitimate politics. Blacks conduct a class struggle in and through race. The BC of race and class cannot be empirically separated, the class character of black struggles is not a result of the fact that blacks are predominantly proletarian, thought this is true…”- (Frank Talk Staff Writers in ‘Azania Salutes Tosh’ – circa 1981)
front cover:
Tosh by Steve Gordon
back cover:
Kippie by Basil Breakey
Rough Music: Selected Poems 1989 - 2013 by Ari Sitas (Deep South, 2013)
Rough Music is a selection from the books and poetry manuscripts written by Ari Sitas over the past 25 years.
His poems are notable for their historical-political astuteness flavored with a romantic surrealism. He writes in a variety of poetic forms, from exuberant jazz-like improvisations to astringent political observations, from humorous dialogues to diary-like narratives. Though always complex, the warmth and self-interrogation of his poems ensures their wide appeal.