Henry Dumas
Encyclopedia
Henry Dumas was an African American
writer
and poet
.
Dumas was born in Sweet Home, Arkansas
in 1934 and he lived there until the age of ten, when he moved to New York City
; however, he always kept with him the religious and folk traditions of his hometown. In Harlem
, he attended public school and graduated from Commerce High School in 1953. After graduating, he enrolled in the Air Force and was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base
in San Antonio, Texas
, where he met future wife Loretta Ponton. The couple married in 1955 and had two sons, David in 1958 and Michael in 1962. Dumas was in the military until 1957, at which time he enrolled at Rutgers University
but never attained a degree. In 1967 Dumas began work at Southern Illinois University
as a teacher, counselor, and director of its "Experiment in Higher Education" program. It was here that he met fellow teacher and poet Eugene Redmond, forming a close collaborative relationship that would prove so integral to Dumas's posthumous career.
During his life, Dumas was active in civil rights
and humanitarian efforts, including transporting food and clothing to protesters in Mississippi and Tennessee. While serving in the military, he spent eighteen months at Dhahran Air Force Base
in Saudi Arabia
, where he developed an interest in the language, culture, religion
, and mythology
of the Arab
world.
He was shot to death at the age of 33 by a white New York City
Transit Authority
police officer at 125th Street Station, in a case of "mistaken identity" on May 23, 1968. The tragic incident exemplified the position of blacks in America in the 1960s. His death is mentioned in the poem "An Alphabet of My Dead," by Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky
.
Dumas was influenced by jazz
, studying with Sun Ra
during the mid-1960s, and in turn influenced jazz musicians. For example, his poem Black Paladins became the title track for a recording by Joseph Jarman
and Famoudou Don Moye. His first collection of short stories was Ark of Bones and Other Stories (1974), posthumously edited by his friend, poet Eugene Redmond. His short story Will the Circle Be Unbroken? was included in the Dark Matter (series)
Reading The Bones anthology edited by Sheree Thomas
Dumas claimed some of his earliest influences to be Moms Mabley
and gospel music
. His experiences as a black child growing up in the south during the '30s and '40s were frequent themes in Dumas's writings. His time spent on the Arabian Peninsula
influenced him as well, and he eventually drew not only on black Christianity and Islam
, but on Sufi mysticism
, Hinduism
, Buddhism
, and Native American
and African myths and religions. In the 1960s Dumas became increasingly involved with both the Black Power Movement and the Black Arts Movement
, immersing himself in music like gospel
, spirituals, jazz
, and blues
. Writer Margaret Walker
and musicians James Brown
and John Coltrane
proved to be major influences of his writing at this time.
Both his fiction and his poetry developed themes of the Black Aesthetic movement
, in addition to themes of nature and the natural world.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.
Dumas was born in Sweet Home, Arkansas
Sweet Home, Arkansas
Sweet Home is a census-designated place in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. Its population was 849 at the 2010 census. It is part of the 'Little Rock-North Little Rock-AR Metropolitan Statistical Area'.-Geography:...
in 1934 and he lived there until the age of ten, when he moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; however, he always kept with him the religious and folk traditions of his hometown. In Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, he attended public school and graduated from Commerce High School in 1953. After graduating, he enrolled in the Air Force and was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base
Lackland Air Force Base
Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located west-southwest of San Antonio, Texas. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command ....
in San Antonio, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, where he met future wife Loretta Ponton. The couple married in 1955 and had two sons, David in 1958 and Michael in 1962. Dumas was in the military until 1957, at which time he enrolled at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
but never attained a degree. In 1967 Dumas began work at Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University is a state university system based in Carbondale, Illinois, in the Southern Illinois region of the state, with multiple campuses...
as a teacher, counselor, and director of its "Experiment in Higher Education" program. It was here that he met fellow teacher and poet Eugene Redmond, forming a close collaborative relationship that would prove so integral to Dumas's posthumous career.
During his life, Dumas was active in civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
and humanitarian efforts, including transporting food and clothing to protesters in Mississippi and Tennessee. While serving in the military, he spent eighteen months at Dhahran Air Force Base
Dhahran Airfield
The Dhahran Airfield was an airfield operated by the United States from 1945 until 1962. The military relationship that exists today between the United States and Saudi Arabia was highly influenced by the origin and development of this airfield.-Background:...
in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, where he developed an interest in the language, culture, religion
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, and mythology
Arabian mythology
Arabian mythology comprises the ancient, pre-Islamic beliefs of the Arabs. Prior to Islam the Kaaba of Mecca was covered in symbols representing the myriad demons, djinn, demigods, or simply tribal gods and other assorted deities which represented the polytheistic culture of pre-Islamic Arabia...
of the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
world.
He was shot to death at the age of 33 by a white New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Transit Authority
New York City Transit Authority
The New York City Transit Authority is a public authority in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City...
police officer at 125th Street Station, in a case of "mistaken identity" on May 23, 1968. The tragic incident exemplified the position of blacks in America in the 1960s. His death is mentioned in the poem "An Alphabet of My Dead," by Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky
Robert Pinsky
Robert Pinsky is an American poet, essayist, literary critic, and translator. From 1997 to 2000, he served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Pinsky is the author of nineteen books, most of which are collections of his own poetry...
.
Dumas was influenced by jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, studying with Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
during the mid-1960s, and in turn influenced jazz musicians. For example, his poem Black Paladins became the title track for a recording by Joseph Jarman
Joseph Jarman
Joseph Jarman , is a jazz musician, composer and Shinshu Buddhist priest. He is perhaps best known as one of the first members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Early life:Jarman grew up in Chicago, Illinois...
and Famoudou Don Moye. His first collection of short stories was Ark of Bones and Other Stories (1974), posthumously edited by his friend, poet Eugene Redmond. His short story Will the Circle Be Unbroken? was included in the Dark Matter (series)
Dark Matter (series)
Dark Matter is an anthology series of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror stories and essays produced by people of African descent. The editor of the series is Sheree Thomas. The first book in the series, Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora won the 2001 World...
Reading The Bones anthology edited by Sheree Thomas
Sheree Thomas
Sheree Thomas also credited as Sheree R. Thomas and Sheree Renée Thomas is a writer, book editor and publisher whose Dark Matter collected the works of some of the best African American Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy writers. Authors such as Samuel R. Delany, Octavia E. Butler, Charles R...
Dumas claimed some of his earliest influences to be Moms Mabley
Moms Mabley
Jackie "Moms" Mabley, born Loretta Mary Aiken , was an American standup comedian and a pioneer of the so-called "Chitlin' Circuit" of African-American vaudeville.-Early years:...
and gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
. His experiences as a black child growing up in the south during the '30s and '40s were frequent themes in Dumas's writings. His time spent on the Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
influenced him as well, and he eventually drew not only on black Christianity and Islam
Black theology
Black theology refers to a variety of Black theologies which have as their base the liberation of the marginalized, especially the injustice done towards Blacks in American and South African contexts...
, but on Sufi mysticism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
, Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, and Native American
Native American mythology
Native American mythology is the body of traditional narratives associated with Native American religion from a mythographical perspective. Native American belief systems include many sacred narratives. Such spiritual stories are deeply based in Nature and are rich with the symbolism of seasons,...
and African myths and religions. In the 1960s Dumas became increasingly involved with both the Black Power Movement and the Black Arts Movement
Black Arts Movement
The Black Arts Movement or BAM is the artistic branch of the Black Power movement. It was started in Harlem by writer and activist Amiri Baraka...
, immersing himself in music like gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
, spirituals, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
. Writer Margaret Walker
Margaret Walker
Margaret Abigail Walker Alexander was an African-American poet and writer. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, she wrote as Margaret Walker. One of her best-known poems is For My People.-Biography:...
and musicians James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
and John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
proved to be major influences of his writing at this time.
Both his fiction and his poetry developed themes of the Black Aesthetic movement
Black Arts Movement
The Black Arts Movement or BAM is the artistic branch of the Black Power movement. It was started in Harlem by writer and activist Amiri Baraka...
, in addition to themes of nature and the natural world.