Poems from Prison. [Paperback]

Etheridge Knight (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Broadside Pr (August 1968)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0910296154
• ISBN-13: 978-0910296151
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 5.1 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,965,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A redemptive masterpiece, February 20, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Poems from Prison. (Paperback)

A searing, aching tribute to suffering, freedom, and redemption. Etheridge Knight takes aim at the center of human frailty -- the heart -- and emerges clutching the message of triumph over the coldest evils of the human soul. Every prospective poet should sit down for a night and read Etheridge Knight's tale of salvation from drugs and prison through the written word. This collection will haunt you, burn you, and endure inside of you. DAN TAPPER

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Power of Poetry, February 27, 2002

By 

Justin Evans (West Wendover, Nevada United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Poems from Prison. (Paperback)

I first read Etheridge Knight by way of the Before Columbus Foundation American Book Awards Anthology. When I finally got hold of this magnificient book I was floored by the spare style that cut me to the bone. ...To tht I can add a bit of my own awe and respect for Knight and his poetry. I use his Poems From Prison as a text for creative writing. I have every one of my poetry students write their own poem based upon his "Idea of Ancestry," attempting to show the connections he made with his self, family, and situation.

Quite simply, there is an honesty and power in this book that you cannot escape...

Aside from the poetic value of these poems, for they really are wonderful examples of the varied devices that poets use in their writing, is the wonderful social commentary they make on some very serious issues. Black, White, Hispanic, (whatever) can learn from this book and make connection with most if not all of the poetry within it.