U.S. playwright, poet and activist Amiri Baraka dead at age 79

(Reuters) - U.S. playwright, poet and activist Amiri Baraka died on Thursday at age 79 at a hospital in his native New Jersey, according to his booking agent Celeste Bateman.

Baraka had very recently been in failing health, Bateman said. He was the author of the nonfiction book "Blues People: Negro Music in White America" and numerous books of poetry.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Cynthia Johnston)