Donald Goines(1938-1974)
- Writer
Robert Goines, the African American writer who turned out 16 novels
under his own name and his pseudonym "Al C. Clark" in his brief
literary career, was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1937. He was sent to
Catholic school by his family, who expected young Donald to get his
education and eventually work in the family's laundry business. In
1952, Goines enlisted in the US Air Force at the age of 17, lying about
his age to enlist. During his three-year stint in USAF blues, he became
a heroin addict while stationed in Korea and Japan, a monkey on his
back that clung to him when he rejoined civilian life in 1955.
Eventually, the monkey was demanding a century-note's worth of junk a
day to remain calm and not run his claws through Goines' body and soul.
Unable to get straight, it was hard to fly right with such a burden,
even for an ex-air man. Like many addicts, Goines turned to crime to
support his jones. In addition to theft and armed robbery, he also
engaged in bootlegging, numbers running and pimping. In and out of
jail, he was incarcerated for a total of six and one-half of the first
15 years after he left the service. He wrote his first two novels while
in stir.
Goines had first, while barred up and reduced to wearing prison
stripes, tried his hand at writing Westerns, but he was uninspired by
the genre. However, he found his muse when he discovered the writings
of the ultra-cool Iceberg Slim, the legendary pimp and raconteur.
Iceberg Slim's works such as his seminal "Pimp" inspired Goines to
write the semi-autobiographical "Whoreson," a novel about a mack born
to his trade as the son of a street-walker. "Whoreson" was brought out
in 1972 by Slim's publisher, Holloway House, which specialized in
African American works. It was his second published novel, after 1971's
"Dopefiend: The Story of a Black Junkie."
Goines was sprung from the joint in 1970. He began writing at a
frenzied pace for the four years that were allotted to him in this vale
of tears, publishing 16 paperback originals with Holloway House. Still
addicted to junk, Goines was disciplined enough to keep to a strict
schedule, writing in the morning before giving over the rest of his day
to letting the lady run her quick-silvery hands through his being.
Writing at a furious pace, he could turn out a novel in as little as a
month. His style is unpolished, his syntax rough, and his words
liberally dependent on the language of the streets, shot through with
black dialect (Ebonics). His novels are peopled by pimps, `hos,
thieves, hitters and dope fiends, struggling to survive in a ghetto
jungle beset with merciless predators. The books were written for an
audience that had lived side-by-side with such creatures and to whom
Goines' characters could never be deemed "exotics," readers to whom
violence was or had been a part of life, not something wholly
fictional.
The novels he published under his own name are about the
"lumpenproleteriat," the criminal underclass. Under the name "Al C.
Clark," Goines wrote five novels about a black revolutionary cat called
Kenyatta. Unlike Goines' gangstas, Kenyatta - named after the great
African freedom fighter Jomo Kenyatta - takes an active stance against
exploitation and the depredations of inner-city life. He opposes the
Establishment and is a sworn enemy of white cops. The head a black
militant organization dedicated to the Herculean task of douching out
the ghettos of drugs and prostitution, Kenyatta is killed in a shootout
in the last book of the series, "Kenyatta's Last Hit" (1975).
Of his oeuvre, Andrew Calcutt and Richard Shepard in "Cult Fiction"
(1998) opine, "Donald Goines wrote fiction the way other people package
meat. There is little point in picking any of his titles as
outstanding, since they are all formulaic. Equally, however, they are
outstanding in that they are street-real and avoid the romanticism of
many of the films and books about black life in America."
Between five and ten million of Goines books have been sold, though his
work did not receive much critical attention until the the hip hop
generation, which he influenced, became a cultural phenomenon. Goines'
books have inspired gangsta rappers from Tupac Shakur to Noreaga as a
new generation of rap-influenced African Americans adopted the
long-gone writer as part of their cultural heritage. Goines' works
reflect the anger and frustration of African Americans as a people. The
hip hop generation was sympathetic and accepting of Goines' rejection
of the values of white society.
The rapper DMX adapted Goines 1974 "Never Die Alone" into a movie, the
first made from one of his novels. In the film, DMX plays King David, a
gangster seeking redemption. The movie, directed by Ernest Dickerson,
was financed by Fox/Searchlight Films and DMX's own Bloodline Films. No
stranger to legal problems, DMX made the film because he identified
with the writer.
Another rapper, Kool G Rap, one of the pioneers of street-hop,
identifies himself as Goines' heir. Calling himself the "Donald Goines
of Rap" due to his ability as a story-teller, Kool G says, "Before G
Rap, they weren't talking about selling drugs in the street, murdering;
they weren't doing nothing relating to the streets. They were talking
about making new dances. But with Donald Goines, I took what I was
seeing and tried to make it visual like him."
While hip hop as an art form cannot be considered a direct descendant
of writers like Goines or Iceberg Slim, they did have a major influence
on gangsta rappers. Nas and Royce Da 5' 9" both have songs called
"Black Girl Lost," which is the title of a Goines book.
Donald Goines and his wife were shot to death on October 21, 1974 under
circumstances that remain a mystery. Some people believe they were
killed in a drug deal that went wrong. Their grandson, Donald Goines
III, was murdered in 1992, part of the destruction of young African
American lives that has not abated since long before the founding of
the Republic, a country whose Constitution deemed African Americans as
3/5ths of a person for the purpose of establishing the apportionment of
Congressional representation but did not give them any legal or social
rights.
Thirty years after his death, Donald Goines's novels are as relevant as
they were in the early 70s, offering a picture of a lifestyle immersed
in violence, sex and drugs. It's a life - often sacrificed to the
exigencies of the street - that has since become glamorized and more
appealing for a new generation of African Americans and white "wiggah"
wannabes due to the mainstream commercialization of gangsta rap by
urban media moguls more concerned with Big Buck$ than social
justice.
under his own name and his pseudonym "Al C. Clark" in his brief
literary career, was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1937. He was sent to
Catholic school by his family, who expected young Donald to get his
education and eventually work in the family's laundry business. In
1952, Goines enlisted in the US Air Force at the age of 17, lying about
his age to enlist. During his three-year stint in USAF blues, he became
a heroin addict while stationed in Korea and Japan, a monkey on his
back that clung to him when he rejoined civilian life in 1955.
Eventually, the monkey was demanding a century-note's worth of junk a
day to remain calm and not run his claws through Goines' body and soul.
Unable to get straight, it was hard to fly right with such a burden,
even for an ex-air man. Like many addicts, Goines turned to crime to
support his jones. In addition to theft and armed robbery, he also
engaged in bootlegging, numbers running and pimping. In and out of
jail, he was incarcerated for a total of six and one-half of the first
15 years after he left the service. He wrote his first two novels while
in stir.
Goines had first, while barred up and reduced to wearing prison
stripes, tried his hand at writing Westerns, but he was uninspired by
the genre. However, he found his muse when he discovered the writings
of the ultra-cool Iceberg Slim, the legendary pimp and raconteur.
Iceberg Slim's works such as his seminal "Pimp" inspired Goines to
write the semi-autobiographical "Whoreson," a novel about a mack born
to his trade as the son of a street-walker. "Whoreson" was brought out
in 1972 by Slim's publisher, Holloway House, which specialized in
African American works. It was his second published novel, after 1971's
"Dopefiend: The Story of a Black Junkie."
Goines was sprung from the joint in 1970. He began writing at a
frenzied pace for the four years that were allotted to him in this vale
of tears, publishing 16 paperback originals with Holloway House. Still
addicted to junk, Goines was disciplined enough to keep to a strict
schedule, writing in the morning before giving over the rest of his day
to letting the lady run her quick-silvery hands through his being.
Writing at a furious pace, he could turn out a novel in as little as a
month. His style is unpolished, his syntax rough, and his words
liberally dependent on the language of the streets, shot through with
black dialect (Ebonics). His novels are peopled by pimps, `hos,
thieves, hitters and dope fiends, struggling to survive in a ghetto
jungle beset with merciless predators. The books were written for an
audience that had lived side-by-side with such creatures and to whom
Goines' characters could never be deemed "exotics," readers to whom
violence was or had been a part of life, not something wholly
fictional.
The novels he published under his own name are about the
"lumpenproleteriat," the criminal underclass. Under the name "Al C.
Clark," Goines wrote five novels about a black revolutionary cat called
Kenyatta. Unlike Goines' gangstas, Kenyatta - named after the great
African freedom fighter Jomo Kenyatta - takes an active stance against
exploitation and the depredations of inner-city life. He opposes the
Establishment and is a sworn enemy of white cops. The head a black
militant organization dedicated to the Herculean task of douching out
the ghettos of drugs and prostitution, Kenyatta is killed in a shootout
in the last book of the series, "Kenyatta's Last Hit" (1975).
Of his oeuvre, Andrew Calcutt and Richard Shepard in "Cult Fiction"
(1998) opine, "Donald Goines wrote fiction the way other people package
meat. There is little point in picking any of his titles as
outstanding, since they are all formulaic. Equally, however, they are
outstanding in that they are street-real and avoid the romanticism of
many of the films and books about black life in America."
Between five and ten million of Goines books have been sold, though his
work did not receive much critical attention until the the hip hop
generation, which he influenced, became a cultural phenomenon. Goines'
books have inspired gangsta rappers from Tupac Shakur to Noreaga as a
new generation of rap-influenced African Americans adopted the
long-gone writer as part of their cultural heritage. Goines' works
reflect the anger and frustration of African Americans as a people. The
hip hop generation was sympathetic and accepting of Goines' rejection
of the values of white society.
The rapper DMX adapted Goines 1974 "Never Die Alone" into a movie, the
first made from one of his novels. In the film, DMX plays King David, a
gangster seeking redemption. The movie, directed by Ernest Dickerson,
was financed by Fox/Searchlight Films and DMX's own Bloodline Films. No
stranger to legal problems, DMX made the film because he identified
with the writer.
Another rapper, Kool G Rap, one of the pioneers of street-hop,
identifies himself as Goines' heir. Calling himself the "Donald Goines
of Rap" due to his ability as a story-teller, Kool G says, "Before G
Rap, they weren't talking about selling drugs in the street, murdering;
they weren't doing nothing relating to the streets. They were talking
about making new dances. But with Donald Goines, I took what I was
seeing and tried to make it visual like him."
While hip hop as an art form cannot be considered a direct descendant
of writers like Goines or Iceberg Slim, they did have a major influence
on gangsta rappers. Nas and Royce Da 5' 9" both have songs called
"Black Girl Lost," which is the title of a Goines book.
Donald Goines and his wife were shot to death on October 21, 1974 under
circumstances that remain a mystery. Some people believe they were
killed in a drug deal that went wrong. Their grandson, Donald Goines
III, was murdered in 1992, part of the destruction of young African
American lives that has not abated since long before the founding of
the Republic, a country whose Constitution deemed African Americans as
3/5ths of a person for the purpose of establishing the apportionment of
Congressional representation but did not give them any legal or social
rights.
Thirty years after his death, Donald Goines's novels are as relevant as
they were in the early 70s, offering a picture of a lifestyle immersed
in violence, sex and drugs. It's a life - often sacrificed to the
exigencies of the street - that has since become glamorized and more
appealing for a new generation of African Americans and white "wiggah"
wannabes due to the mainstream commercialization of gangsta rap by
urban media moguls more concerned with Big Buck$ than social
justice.