Etheridge Knight



Etheridge Knight (April 19, 1931 – March 10, 1991) was an African-American poet who became a notable poet in 1968 with his debut volume, Poems from Prison. The book recalls in verse his eight-year-long sentence after Etheridge was arrested for robbery in 1960. A prose version was published in Italian as Voce negre dal carcere, and in English as Black Voices from Prison (1970), which includes other prisoners' writings. He is considered one of the major poets of the Black Arts Movement, which flourished from the early 1960s through the mid-1970s.

Knight was born to a poor family in rural Corinth, Mississippi, but spent time growing up in Paducah, Kentucky. He was one of seven children. Knight decided to drop out at the age of 16. At such a young age, he realized that without an education, his opportunities were limited. In his hometown, he could only find menial jobs such as shining shoes and spent much of his time at juke joints, pool halls, and underground poker games. This took an emotional toll on Knight. Desperate to relieve himself of the despair of reality, he slipped into drug addiction. In an attempt to find himself and a purpose in life, Knight decided to join the U.S. Army in 1947. Knight served as a medic in the Korean War until he was discharged from service in 1951, after suffering from a shrapnel wound that caused him to fall deeper into his drug addiction. After his time in the Army he settled in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he picked up the art of telling toasts, which are traditional, black, oral narrative poems acted out in a theatrical manner. During this time, he still maintained his addiction to heroin.

In 1960, Knight snatched an elderly woman’s purse in order to support his addiction, and was sentenced to serve a ten to twenty-five year term in the Indiana State Prison. Enraged by his lengthy prison sentence, which he believed to be unjust and racist in nature, Knight, during his first year of prison became hostile and belligerent in his ways. However, in the following years of incarceration, he turned to books such as The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the poetry of Langston Hughes. Inspired by them, he redirected his embitterment into the writing of poetry so as to liberate his soul. By drawing from his experience in toasting, Knight developed his verse into a transcribed-oral poetry. By 1963, Knight began identifying himself as a poet. He also started establishing contacts with significant figures in the African American literary community. These contacts included Gwendolyn Brooks, who visited him in prison and critiqued his work. The poems he had written during his time in prison were so effective that Dudley Randall, a poet and owner of Broadside Press, published Knight’s first volume of verse, which he called Poems from Prison, and hailed Knight as one of the major poets of the Black Arts Movement. The book’s publication coincided with his release from prison. Other poets such as Amiri Baraka, Haki Madhubuti, and Sonia Sanchez aided Knight in obtaining his parole in 1968.

Upon his release from prison in 1968, Knight married poet Sonia Sanchez. Over the next few years, he held the position of writer-in-residence at several universities, including two years, 1968 and 1969, spent at the University of Pittsburgh. While living in Pittsburgh with wife Sonia Sanchez and their family, Knight spent time as poetry editor for Motive magazine. As a result of his ongoing drug addiction, his marriage to Sonia Sanchez did not last long, and they were divorced in 1970 while still in Pittsburgh. He continued writing his third book, Belly Song and Other Poems, which was published in 1973. His third work incorporates new life experiences and attitudes about love and race, and Knight was praised for the work’s sincerity. Belly Song was nominated for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Knight’s time in Pennsylvania was very important to his career: his work during this period won him both a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1972 and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1974.

He married Mary McNally in 1972, and fathered her two children. They settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota until they separated in 1977. He then resided in Memphis, Tennessee where he received Methadone treatments. Knight rose from a life of poverty, crime, and drug addiction to become exactly what he expressed in his notebook in 1965: a voice that was heard and helped his people. Knight died in Indianapolis, Indiana, of lung cancer on March 10, 1991.

Knight continued to write throughout his post-prison life. Belly Song and Other Poems (1973) dealt with themes of racism and love. Knight believed the poet was a "meddler" or intermediary between the poem and the reader. He elaborated on this concept in his 1980 work Born of a Woman. The Essential Etheridge Knight (1986) is a compilation of Knight's work.

In 1990, he earned a bachelor's degree in American poetry and criminal justice from Martin Center University in Indianapolis. Knight taught at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Hartford, and Lincoln University, before he was forced to stop working due to illness. He also continued to be known as a charismatic poetry reader.

Annotated Bibliography
Anaporte-Easton, Jean. "Etheridge Knight: Poet And Prisoner: An Introduction." Callaloo: A Journal Of African-American And African Arts And Letters 19.4 (1996): 941-946. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''This article is part of an issue devoted to Etheridge Knight. Anaporte-Easton considers the importance of Knight's experiences as a prisoner and African American and how these experiences helped define Knight's poetics.''

Carroll, Rachel. "Invisible Men: Reading African-American Masculinity." Masculinities in Text and Teaching. 141-154. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''Carroll considers Etheridge Knight's and Alice Walker's similar treatment of masculinity and the African American experience. The focus of her article though is finding appropriate teaching approaches for presenting the challenging work of Knight and Walker.''

Collins, Michael. "The Antipanopticon Of Etheridge Knight." PMLA: Publications Of The Modern Language Association Of America 123.3 (2008): 580. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''Collins reads Knight's body of poetry through the lenses of Foucault and Derrida. Of particular importance are Derrida's ideas about language as hospitality and how Knight's work constructs a communicative feedback loop that confirms Derrida's argument concerning language as hospitality.''

Crowder, Ashby Bland. "Etheridge Knight: Two Fields Of Combat." Concerning Poetry 16.2 (1983): 23-25. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''Bland's essay delves into Knight's personal history of warfare on two fronts--Knight fought as a soldier in Korea and, later, fought as a drug-addicted prisoner. Bland's major focus is how these twin experiences of combat influenced Knight's poem, "Poem for Black Relocation Centers" (23-25).''

Hill, Patricia Liggins. "'Blues For A Mississippi Black Boy': Etheridge Knight's Craft In The Black Oral Tradition." Mississippi Quarterly: The Journal Of Southern Culture 36.1 (1982): 21-33. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''Hill's article discusses the fundamental elements of Knight's craft, and his placement in the long line of practitioners of the "Black Oral Tradition" (21). She reads "Blues for a Mississippi Black Boy" as part of this oral tradition as well as an example of Knight's complex, intertextual craft.''

Hill, Patricia Liggins. "'The Violent Space': The Function Of The New Black Aesthetic In Etheridge Knight's Prison Poetry." Black American Literature Forum 14.3 (1980): 115-121. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''Hill considers the role of the "New Black Aesthetic" in Knight's poetry and his treatment of imprisonment as a form of slavery. She tracks Knight's techniques that allow him to "merge his consciousness with the consciousness of his people" (120). Through his adoption of the "New Black Aesthetic" and his poetic techniques, Knight is able to make his personal experiences of imprisonment, "a microcosm of the collective experiences of Black people" (120).''

Hurd, Myles Raymond. "The Corinth Connection In Etheridge Knight's 'The Idea Of Ancestry'." Notes On Mississippi Writers 25.1 (1993): 1-9. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''Raymond considers the importance of region, place and birth place in Knight's poetry. The essay does a remarkable job of locating Knight's poem, "Idea of Ancestry" in the context of the local--Corinth, MS (8-9).''

Johnson, Thomas C. "Editor's Note To The Poems." Worcester Review 19.1-2 (1998): 128-131. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''This article is part of a special edition devoted to the life and work of Etheridge Knight. The editor's note discusses important emendations in the poems appearing in the special section.''

Johnson, Thomas C. "Excerpts From Notes Of An Oral Rhapsodist: An Introduction To The Poetry And Aesthetic Of Etheridge Knight." Worcester Review 19.1-2 (1998): 79-83. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''This article is part of a special edition devoted to the life and work of Etheridge Knight. Johnson's critical introduction considers the importance of the oral tradition, the song-like rhapsody of many of Knight's better poems, and his charismatic reading style.''

Johnson, Thomas C. "Interview With Yusef Komunyakaa." Worcester Review 19.1-2 (1998): 119-127. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''This article is part of a special edition devoted to the life and work of Etheridge Knight. Johnson's interview with Komunyaka traces some of the most important influences on Komunyaka, which, among others, is the poetry of Etheridge Knight.''

Joyce, Joyce Ann. "The Poetry Of Etheridge Knight: A Reflection Of An African Philosophical/Aesthetic." Worcester Review 19.1-2 (1998): 105-118. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

This article is part of a special edition devoted to the life and work of Etheridge Knight. Joyce's article focuses on Knight's participation in the Black Poetry movement and his usage and redefinition of the movement's "New Black Aesthetic" (105-8).

Komunyaka, Yusef. Blue Notes: Essays, Interviews, And Commentaries.  Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2000. 16-21. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''Komunyaka's essay identifies Knight as one of the most important "chroniclers of prison life," and someone who is a "bona fide witness" to a carceral experience where "savagery equals survival" (16-19). Komunyaka estimates that Knight was one of his most important influences, especially early in his career.''

Laws, Page R. "'Shaped By The Cages That Kept Us': The Prison Poetry Of Etheridge Knight And Dennis Brutus." MAWA Review 13.2 (1998): 78-87. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''Laws' essay is a comparative reading of the work of Etheridge Knight and Dennis Brutus, a South African prison writer. The focus of the article is the evaluation of Knight's and Brutus' literary treatment of prison.''

Madhubuti, Haki R. "Etheridge Knight: Making Up Poems." Worcester Review 19.1-2 (1998): 90-104. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''This article is part of a special edition devoted to the life and work of Etheridge Knight. In this article Madhubuti considers how the experience of being an African American poet and ex con conditions the subjects Knight chooses for his many poems; Madhubuti also considers how these experiences impact Knight's restless compositional style.''

McCullough, Ken. "Communication And Excommunication: An Interview With Etheridge Knight." Callaloo: A Journal Of African American And African Arts And Letters 5.1-2 (14-15) (1982): 2-10. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

Interview with Knight that focuses on isolation, alienation and communicativity in his body of work.

McKim, Elizabeth Gordon. "Etheridge Knight In Conversation." Worcester Review 19.1-2 (1998): 132-139. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''This article is part of a special edition devoted to the life and work of Etheridge Knight. Gordon's interview of Knight touches on many of the themes and ideas addressed in this special edition. Of particular importance are Knight's ideas about "poet-ing" and the evolution of his poetics (132-134).''

McKim, Elizabeth Gordon. "Freedom and Confinement." Worcester Review 19, no. 1-2 (1998): 140-147. MLA International Bibliography. Web. December 5, 2011).

''McKim's article evaluates the importance of "freedom and confinement" in the works of Knight (140). Importantly, she discusses Knight's oeuvre as a form of poetic memoir capable of guarding against forgetting the oppressive forms and methods of incarceration in the United States (147).''

Nelson, Howard. "Belly Songs: The Poetry Of Etheridge Knight." Twayne Companion to Contemporary Literature in English, I: Ammons-Lurie; II: Macleod-Williams. 601. New York, NY: Twayne; Thomson Gale, 2002. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

Howard's piece is a critical overview of Knight's poetry; in it he considers Knight's deployment of the themes of singing, orality, incarceration, to name only a few.

Pinckney, Darryl. "You're In The Army Now." Parnassus: Poetry In Review 9.1 (1981): 306-314. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''This article deals with the importance of Jay Wright's and Etheridge Knight's experiences as enlisted men serving during wartime. Pinckney shows how the scars, trauma, and in Knight's case addiction, heavily influence Wright's and Knight's work for the rest of their lives (306-308).''

Pinsker, Sanford. "A Conversation With Etheridge Knight." Black American Literature Forum 18.1 (1984): 11-14. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

Pinsker's interview of Knight is focused on examining the issues of incarceration and drug addiction, and how these issues characterize Knight's work.

Price, Ron. "The Physicality Of Poetry: An Interview With Etheridge Knight." New Letters 52.2-3 (1986): 167-176. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''One of the best known and most cited interviews of Knight. In Price's interview, Knight discusses how prison is his "major metaphor," and how the visceral, kinetic and violent world of prison is mapped onto his many poems (167-170).''

Quinn, Fran. "The Worcester Poetry Scene And Etheridge Knight." Worcester Review 19.1-2 (1998): 84-89. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''This article is part of a special edition devoted to the life and work of Etheridge Knight. Quinn comprehensively tracks and evaluates Knight's complex relationship to the poetry scene in Worcester.''

Rowell, Charles H. "An Interview With Etheridge Knight." Callaloo 19.4 (1996): 967-980. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

Interview with Knight discussing the publication of The Essential Etheridge Knight, and the changes, in the book, made to some of Knight's oldest and most loved poems.

Rubeo, Ugo. "'In The Inner Ear': Genealogy And Intertextuality In The Poetry Of Etheridge Knight And Michael Harper." GRAAT: Publication Des Groupes De Recherches Anglo-Américaines De L'université François Rabelais De Tours 18.(1998): 23-31. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''Rubeo considers the role oral communication, intertexuality and self-referntiality play in the poetry of Harper and Knight. The blurring of distinctive lines between musician and poet, and jazz and poetry are of particular importance (30-31).''

Rubeo, Ugo. "Voice As Lifesaver: Defining The Function Of Orality In Etheridge Knight's Poetry." The Black Columbiad: Defining Moments in African American Literature and Culture. 275-285. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1994. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''Rubeo's book chapter looks at orality, the blues motif and the complex, multifaceted dialogue that goes on in Knight's poetry (285). Rubeo's argues that Knight's poetics are characterized by an essential goal,"continuous dialogical interaction" (275).''

Seelow, David. "Loud Men: The Poetic Visions Of Robert Bly, Ice Cube, And Etheridge Knight." Journal Of Men's Studies: A Scholarly Journal About Men And Masculinities 6.2 (1998): 149-168. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

''This essay considers Ice Cube's, Robert Bly's, and Etheridge Knight's treatment of loudness, the spoken word, and what relationship this has to masculinity. Seelow's work makes some novel comparisons between the disparate figures of Ice Cube, Bly and Knight.''

Tracy, Steven C. "A MELUS Interview: Etheridge Knight." Melus 12.2 (1985): 7-23. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

Interview with Knight that is concerned with the genealogy and history of Knight's development as a poet.

Werner, Craig. "The Poet, The Poem, The People: Etheridge Knight's Aesthetic." Obsidian 7.2-3 (1981): 7-17. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

Werner's piece considers Knight's populist poetics, his role in the "Black Aesthetic Movmement," and how these issues show up in his collection of poems, "Born of a Woman: New and Selected Poems" (10).

Works by Etheridge Knight
Poems from Prison. Detroit: Broadside Press, 1968.

Black Voices from Prison. (with others) New York: Pathfinder Press, 1970.

Belly Song and Other Poems. Detroit: Broadside Press, 1973.

Born of a Woman: New and Selected Poems. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980.

The Essential Etheridge Knight. Pittsburgh: U of Pittsburgh P, 1986.

External links and Further Reading

 * Mr. Africa Poetry Lounge: Etheridge Knight Small collection of poems.
 * Guide to the Etheridge Knight Collection, Butler University
 * Modern American Poetry: Etheridge Knight (1931-1991)
 * Etheridge Knight Biography
 * Online collection of 14 poems by Etheridge Knight complete with biographical information.
 * Homepage for the Etheridge Knight Arts Festival.
 * Knight reading at Stone Soup, 1987.
 * Knight reading at Stone Soup, 1987, Part 2.
 * Knight reading at Stone Soup, 1987, Part 3.
 * Knight reading at Stone Soup, 1987, Part 4.