...However, there is one catch. A while back Baraka was appointed by the New Jersey Council for Humanities and the Council on the Arts to be the states Poet Laureate. This is a government post paying Baraka a $10,000 stipend for him to perform a couple of public readings a year and promote poetry in the schools.
...Amiri Baraka is a very talented writer and poet who is considered one of the great poets of the 20th Century. Problem is the sick and terribly divisive things he has said in his poem Somebody Blew Up America,... Having a right to say anything you want as a poet is not the same as being able to say anything you want when you are getting paid with tax payer dollars.
I agree with lady lawyer. The writer is merely pointing out that Baraka is 1) misusing his talents; and 2) doing it on the public dole. This is consistent with conservative thinking. He is not defending Baraka in any way.
As a fan of poetry, I have read some of LeRoi Jones/Baraka's work. I would agree that he is talented, but has put it to odious use. Saying that he is talented is not the same as defending him.
If the writer is in fact a liberal/leftist, his opposition to Baraka is all the more significant.