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.

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

This Book is about a king who lives in a castle. He has a baker called Adrian.The King always eats eggs. Adrian makes the king chicken eggs,goose eggs,duck eggs.Then he shouts More More More! The Next day he read in his Newspaper that a dodos egg was spotted on an island.So he told Adrian to prepare the boat.To get to The island.

The poem Belly Song is one of the most powerful and beautiful poems I have ever read. I have a recording of Knight reading it, and it is even more stunning when spoken. This is one of my favorite volumes of poetry that I own.

fist discovered him as a sophmore in college, in an anthology called " the black poets " then read "belly song" and "the essential etheridge knight..." while some of his poetry related to his prision experience, he never allowed his mind to become a prison, so he was always free. you can't go wrong with any of the poems in this collection; my personal favorites are "the idea of ancestry," and " he sees through stone." with words as thick as mississippi mud, etheridge " sang" america. Give them hell in heaven, dude...

This man, along with many others, ignited my love for verse and truly showed the humbleness and humility of man. He was born a boy in Mississippi, then became a man of addictions, and then later was raised as a college graduate and award winning author. Poetry can and will be rehabilitating, if we let it.

Rest in Peace Brother Etheridge