Etheridge Knight

Etheridge Knight
BornEtheridge Knight
(1931-04-19)April 19, 1931
Corinth, Mississippi
DiedMarch 10, 1991(1991-03-10) (aged 59)
Indianapolis, Indiana
Resting placeCrown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis
OccupationPoet
LanguageEnglish
Alma materIndiana State Prison 1960-1968
Period20th century
GenrePoetry
Literary movementBlack Arts Movement
Notable awardsNational Endowment for the Arts grant (1972, 1981), Guggenheim Fellowship (1974)
Years active1965-1991
Spouses
Sonia Sanchez
​
(divorced)​
Mary Ann McAnally
​
(divorced)​
Charlene Blackburn
​
(divorced)​

Etheridge Knight (April 19, 1931 – March 10, 1991) was an African-American poet.

Knight left school after 9th grade. He was underage in 1947, but he signed his parents' signatures to join the U. S. Army in 1947. He fought in the Korean War and he was hurt by flying metal. He left the Army in 1951. He became addicted to drugs and alcohol. He broke laws to make money for his addiction. In 1960 he was arrested for robbery. He was put into the Indiana State Prison. Later, he said, “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.”

He started writing poetry in prison. Sometimes he was visited there by poets Gwendolyn Brooks, Sonia Sanchez, and Dudley Randall. They talked with him about his writing. He was let out of prison in 1969 and married Sanchez. His drug addiction soon led to their divorce.

From 1969 to 1972 he was the poet in residence at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Hartford, and Lincoln University.

Knight was given money from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1972 and 1981 and a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship in 1974. He was given the Shelley Award by the Poetry Society of America in 1985. In 1990 he got a bachelor’s degree in American poetry and criminal justice from Martin Center University in Indianapolis.

Knight died of lung cancer in 1991.

Works

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Gates and Smitih (2014). The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. New York: Norton. pp. 612–614. ISBN 9780393911558.
  2. 1 2 Premo, Cassie (2001). Knight, Etheridge. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-513883-2. Retrieved February 11, 2023. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  3. ↑ Donaghy, Daniel (2009). Knight, Etheridge. ISBN 978-0-19-516779-5. Retrieved February 11, 2023. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  4. ↑ "Literature Fellowships". www.arts.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  5. ↑ "Etheridge Knight". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  6. ↑ "Etheridge Knight". Poetry Society of America. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  7. ↑ "Etheridge Knight". Poetry Foundation. 2023-02-10. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  8. ↑ Fraser, C. Gerald (1991-03-14). "Etheridge Knight Is Dead at 57; Began Writing Poetry in Prison". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-11.

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