Who is Etheridge Knight

Etheridge Knight (April 19, 1931 – March 10, 1991) was an African-American poet who made his name in 1968 with his debut volume, Poems from Prison. The book recalls in verse his eight-year-long sentence after his arrest for robbery in 1960. By the time he left prison, Knight had prepared a second volume featuring his own writings and works of his fellow inmates. This second book, first published in Italy under the title Voce negre dal carcere, appeared in English in 1970 as Black Voices from Prison. These works established Knight as one of the major poets of the Black Arts Movement, which flourished from the early 1960s through the mid-1970s. With roots in the Civil Rights Movement, Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam, and the Black Power Movement, Etheridge Knight and other American art...
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Etheridge Knight Poems

• Cell Song
  Night Music Slanted
  Light strike the cave of sleep. I alone
  tread the red circle
  and twist the space with speech ...
• As You Leave Me
  Shiny record albums scattered over
  the living room floor, reflecting light
  from the lamp, sharp reflections that hurt
  my eyes as I watch you, squatting among the platters, ...
• A Poem For Myself
  I was born in Mississippi;
  I walked barefooted thru the mud.
  Born black in Mississippi,
  Walked barefooted thru the mud....
• He Sees Through Stone
  He sees through stone
  he has the secret
  eyes this old black one
  who under prison skies...
• The Idea Of Ancestry
  Taped to the wall of my cell are 47 pictures: 47 black
  faces: my father, mother, grandmothers (1 dead), grand-
  fathers (both dead), brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts,
  cousins (1st and 2nd), nieces, and nephews.They stare...

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Etheridge Knight Quotes

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Comments about Etheridge Knight

• Artscouncilindy: voting closing soon: help us select the city of indianapolis bicentennial legends etheridge knight mural concept. three finalists have interpreted knight’s legacy in their own unique style. view the artists’ designs and cast your vote by march 19.
• Mrwildstyle: vote i like alkemi's concept for this etheridge knight mural the best here's the link to vote -
• Adamgussow: etheridge knight reading his blues poem to hs kids. doesn't get much better than this.
• Artscouncilindy: help us select the city of indianapolis bicentennial legends etheridge knight mural concept. three finalists have interpreted knight’s legacy in their own unique style. view the artists’ designs and cast your vote by march 19.
• Artscouncilindy: reminder: join us this saturday, march 4 to help select an artist for the next bicentennial legends mural honoring etheridge knight. tune in at 1 p.m. to see the proposed mural concepts. register here:

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