Remembering Amiri Baraka With Politics and Poetry The actor Danny Glover officiated the funeral for Amiri Baraka, a prolific poet and playwright who spent much of his life in Newark. Amiri Baraka's funeral began with a wordless tribute on Saturday morning: A procession of African drums and jazz trumpets followed the writer's coffin through Newark Symphony Hall. From that point, the words came copiously: rapid-fire riffs by poets and politicians that often rose to a shout or a song, in a poetic style Mr. Baraka helped shape. The poet Tony Medina recited, slam-style: "Baraka spoke in a language of Bopulicitous intent / James Brown black Langston Hughes blue / Mouth of Malcolm Baldwin eyes / Big as suns & moons / Making sure we were never in the dark - / With ghosts!" Mr. Baraka, a prolific poet and playwright who helped forge the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, died on Jan. 9, at 79. Around 3,000 people filled the grand, gold-leafed hall for the funeral services, which were officiated by the actor Danny Glover. The night before, nearly as many people attended a wake, where the Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke. A photograph of Mr. Baraka sat on an easel beside a coffin on the stage; on the other side, a Greek fisherman's cap and a scarf with an African print hung on a stand, as if the poet stood there, head turned down. Around 3,000 people filled Newark Symphony Hall for the four-hour service on Saturday. Among the dozens of speakers were the theorist Cornel West, the poet Sonia Sanchez, who read a poem Maya Angelou wrote for Mr. Baraka, Congressman Donald M. Payne Jr. and several community leaders and activists. The tap-dancer Savion Glover performed. Mr. Baraka, born Everett LeRoy Jones, and later known as LeRoi Jones, was by turns a Beat poet, a fiery playwright, a strident follower of Malcolm X, a Muslim and a Marxist. Those who spoke praised Mr. Baraka's passion, his persistent vigilance over the politics of Newark, and his grit, even as they tried to reconcile his tumultuous past. In his eulogy, Mr. West called Amiri Baraka "a literary genius," who wrote his way into the mainstream yet, "at the same time, was willing to reject the white establishment and say, "I am going to raise my voice." " " "If you reject me," " he added, invoking Amiri Baraka, " "I'm going to be in solidarity with the wretched of the earth." " Mr. Baraka was widely praised for his work, notably "Blues People: Negro Music in White America," a 1963 historical survey of black music, and the 1964 play, "Dutchman," which won an Obie Award. However, in the course of his six-decade career, critics accused him of being homophobic, misogynistic and anti-Semitic. In 2002, in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, he performed a poem widely perceived as anti-Semitic, "Somebody Blew Up America," in which he suggested Israeli leaders had prior knowledge of the attacks. To oust him as New Jersey poet laureate, state officials eliminated the post. His relationship with his birthplace was often a troubled one. The former mayor of Newark, Sharpe James, said after the services, "He was our challenger in Newark. He was our agitator for progress. Former Newark Mayor Cory Booker, of whom Mr. Baraka was outspokenly critical, did not attend the service. At moments, the service became a political rally, as eulogizers endorsed Ras Baraka, a son of Mr. Baraka and member of the Newark municipal council who is running for mayor. In Ras Baraka's eulogy, which was the capstone of the four-hour service, he said, "My father loved this city of violence. He was a Newarker to his core. He added, "Because he chose to fight here, so do I." The quieter strain that ran throughout the service was the influence that Mr. Baraka had on the individual lives of black poets and performers. Mr. Glover recalled an encounter with Mr. Baraka when he was a student in San Francisco. "It formed the framework of how I've tried to approach the idea of my work as a citizen artist," he said. Mr. Baraka's work, he said, influenced his decision to become an actor. The solemnity of the services was broken up by musical interludes - free jazz and a crooning rendition of "Round Midnight" - and bursts of humor. When Congressman Payne initially failed to appear onstage, an M.C. drew laughter when he said, "Congressman? I'm going to put this out in the universe, Baraka's spirit is hard on politicians. The service moved the audience to its feet, and to tears, as when the poet Asha Bandale took the stage. Amiri taught us, the world does belong to us, too. She continued: "What a gift he gave us, to those who have had so much taken."