Etheridge Knight and his poetry

¶ … Etheridge Knight is effectively explained as an example of Whitman calls and egalitarian poem. At the same time, the analysis acknowledges that Knight finds himself forced to use language which some people would find offensive or even inappropriate. Rather than an unintentional slipping into common vernacular, this author explains that Knight's usage of profanity is an intentional commentary on the marginalization experienced by people in minority groups. The fact that they suffer from such widespread oppression throughout their lives breeds an inescapable and palpable frustration with the larger world which can only really be expressed by exclamations of profanity. The oppression of minorities is a common entity in literature written by people who have an ethnic heritage with a history of marginalization and social minimization.

Further, this author suggests that the oppression of minority groups seems to be such a force in their lives that they cannot help but be dominated by it in terms of their personality. The oppression of the people creates a sense of shared community that they would not have if they were treated as social equals. I also cannot help but agree with the questioning of this vocabulary choice. Does Knight use profanity as a symbol of minority oppression? Indubitably. However, the question must also be breached as to whether or not he considered using anything other than profanity and if not was the shock value of such terminology part of the reason for its usage? That is to say was it wholly a tool for artistic purpose or what is it profanity in order to shorthand making a more linear point about race relations?