SOURCE: "The Poet, the Poem, the People: Etheridge Knight's Aesthetic," in Obsidian, Vol. VII, Nos. 2 & 3, Summer-Winter, 1981, pp. 7-17.

In the following essay, Werner examines Knight's work in light of contemporary African-American poetry, focusing in particular on the populist roots of his verse.

In the "Preface" to Born of a Woman: New and Selected Poems, Etheridge Knight endorses an aesthetic which balances the demands of "The Poet, the Poem, and the People." The third term is crucial. While numerous influential poets and critics, among them Michael Harper and Robert B. Stepto in their recent anthology Chant of Saints, [1979] turn to the relatively elitist transatlantic and academic traditions of Afro-American poetry, Knight's theory and practice provide a necessary reminder of the equally important populist roots of black expression. A polished craftsman, capable of exploiting both traditional Euro-American and experimental Afro-American (frequently musical) forms, Knight has emerged as a major voice...