Poetry Challenge #292-Ethridge Knight, Simile Put
Etheridge Knight was born on Apri1 19, 1931. He dropped out of high school and joined the army and was wounded in Korea, the injury led to drug addiction and in 1960, convicted of robbery, 8 years imprisonment.
While in prison, Knight, already known for giving “toasts” began to write poetry. His toasts were were precursors to rap, really, in that, as Poetry Foundation put it, Knight’s toasts were “long, memorized, narrative poems, often in rhymed couplets.”
Knight’s first poetry collection, Poems from Prison, was published in 1968. Following is a quote from the back cover:
“I died in Korea from a shrapnel wound, and narcotics resurrected me. I died in 1960 from a prison sentence and poetry brought me back to life.”
Ethridge Knight’s 1973 collection, Belly Song and Other Poems, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award.
Here’s a poem from that collection entitled, Cell Song:
Poetry Challenge #292
Simile Put
Ethridge Knight’s poetry didn’t skirt the issues, or would anyone call it “flowery.” The images and situations he writes about are vivid and visual largely because of the similes and metaphors he created, as in these examples:
For today’s prompt try describing a feeling or situation using simile or metaphor so real, raw and vivid the image comes to life on the page.
If you’d like, let that image stand alone. Or craft a poem around it.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Image it!
For more, check out zoroboro.com for a birthday commemoration of Knight’s poem snippets and quotes.
And zip over to Poetry Foundation to access Ethridge Knight’s poems:
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2400+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
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