Ishmael Reed

Reed’s third volume of poetry includes unpublished works from 1966 through 1973, the year it was published. In his jacket notes Reed writes:

“Being a colored poet/Is like going over/Niagara Falls in a/Barrel
An 8 year old can do what/You do unaided
The barrel maker doesn’t/Think you can cut it
The gawkers on the bridge/Hope you fall on your/Face
The tourist bus full of/Paying customers broke down/Just out of Buffalo
Some would rather dig/The postcards than/Catch your act
A mile from the brink/It begins to storm
But what really hurts is/You’re bigger than the/Barrel"

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