The Essential Etheridge Knight by Etheridge Knight (1986)

Etheridge Knight (1931-91) was a black American poet.  He was seriously wounded in Korea, became an addict, was sent to prison for armed robbery, and there started writing poems.

Poetry Review:  None of the facts given above are reasons to read the poetry in The Essential Etheridge Knight.  The reason to read his poetry are the poems, not his history.  Although he won the American Book Award, he's a little too street to be in the 2003 Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry edited by Jahan Ramazani.  Even with two volumes, there's no room for Etheridge Knight, he's not been anointed by the academics as one of them. Instead, he's himself.  A man of the streets, a black man in 60's America, a soldier, a junkie, an inmate, and yes, a poet.  Torn between what he wants to do and what he has to do, Knight is well aware of the role of the black American poet.  He writes hard, sharp metaphors, describing Malcolm X: "The sun came ... spitting fire from his lips."  Emotion drives Knight's poems, and passion drives the lack of structure, the rage and tenderness, the seemingly random use of rhyme.  But his rhymes aren't random, they fit an oral tradition of poetry that escapes the paper prison of the page (there are clips on YouTube of Etheridge Knight reciting these poems). Hear his anger and love (especially one called Ilu, the Talking Drum -- read it aloud, you'll be glad you did). Etheridge Knight's poems include folk tales, bigger than life mythic characters who beat the system (even if only temporarily), and put it over on society.  He writes like a big man, with big feelings and big passions. His poems are made of family and lovers, the healing, saving power of love over pain.  As did Richard Wright, Etheridge Knight likes to use the haiku form, tho he's a little freer with it than Wright was.  Here's a couple:

   The wire fence is tall.
   The lights in the prison barracks
   Flick off, one by one.

   A blue pick/up truck
   Roars past; Sun shines on shotgun
   Leering in window

He's the inheritor of the legacy of (and writes poems for) Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks, and I hate that he's been forgotten.  He's that cliche of the vulnerable tough guy, but while reading these poems you'll never think it's a cliche.  The poems in The Essential Etheridge Knight embody humor, drugs, sex, poverty, black revolution, love, and most of all his life.  This is not the poetry you're supposed to read, it's the poetry you need to read. [5 Stars]