“What If I Write Circuses”

Abstract

The New Western and/or Post-Western of the 1960s distorted and parodied the patterns of characterization of the classic western aiming at reaching atypical and more revealing truths about the western experience. Likewise, Ishmael Reed's Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down (1969) undertakes to serve a similar purpose and beyond. It breaths fresh air into the so-called "exhausted" genre by providing more intriguing western histories, on the one hand, and revitalizes novel writing at a time when the novel is pronounced "dead," on the other hand. What's more, written at the height of the "counter-culture revolution," it both undertakes to question and uproot preconceived absolutes and media-based realities regarding race, religion, and indigenous cultures by reviving the resourcefulness of Afro-American heritage. As such, it highlights Voodoo turned Hoodoo aesthetics as the best embodiment of this age-old culture and undermines the preeminence of popular culture, thus paving the way toward more experimental representations. Therefore, Loop Garoo Kid's words while arguing with Bo Shmo, the neo-realist gang leader: "What's the beef with me Bo Shmo, What if I write circuses?" reign supreme, as they depict the spirit of an era worth revisiting.