Ishmael Reed is one of the best known, and prodigious, African American authors of his generation. He is a highly controversial writer, and though his writing—which often exposes the excesses and absurdities of right-wing white America—has drawn frequent comparisons to Amiri Baraka, he just as consistently satirizes black tradition. Thus, Reed is an independent thinker and artist, one who uses humor and social satire to go after political and cultural oppression of every stripe in America. Interestingly, he grew up in Buffalo, where he attended public school and took classes at UB before moving on to the Big Apple. Reed is the author of nine novels, six plays, seven books of poetry, six books of essays, and has edited several anthologies and periodicals. His most recent book of poetry, New and Collected Poems, 1964-2006, was listed as one of the four best poetry books of last year by the New York Times and won the California Book Award’s Gold Metal in Poetry 2007. He recently retired from a teaching position at UC Berkeley. Reed has several appearances scheduled today and tomorrow, at ECC City Campus, the African American Cultural Center and Buffalo State College.