In this week's episode, we discuss Etheridge Knight and his life and works. Knight was an African-American poet who made his name in 1968 with his debut volume, Poems from Prison. With roots in the Civil Rights Movement, Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam, and the Black Power Movement, Etheridge Knight and other American artists within the movement sought to create politically engaged work that explored the African-American cultural and historical experience.

Excerpt from "Belly Song (for the Daytop Family)"

And I and I / must admit

that the sea in you

 has sung / to the sea / in me

and I and I / must admit

that the sea in me

 has fallen / in love

 with the sea in you

because you have made something

out of the sea

 that nearly swallowed you

And this poem

This poem

This poem / I give / to you.

This poem is a song / I sing / I sing / to you

from the bottom

 of the sea

 in my belly

This poem

This poem

This poem / is a song / about FEELINGS

Support the show at getlit.org

Support the show

Support the show