A Review of 'The Rose That Grew from Concrete' by Tupac Shakur

Please note: this is a book I read in 2017.  Due to starting a new job, I kept up in reading but fell behind in blogging.  Reviews for 2018 reads will begin after the remaining 2017 reviews are posted.  Thank you for your patience!

"Tupac Shakur's most intimate and honest thoughts were uncovered only after his death with the instant classic The Rose That Grew from Concrete.

His talent was unbounded-- a raw force that commanded attention and respect.
His death was tragic-- a violent homage to the power of his voice.
His legacy is indomitable-- as vibrant and alive today as it has ever been.

For the first time in paperback, this collection of deeply personal poetry is a mirror into the legendary artist's enigmatic world and its many contradictions.

Written in his own hand from the time he was nineteen, these seventy-two poems embrace his spirit, his energy-- and his ultimate message of hope."

I was doing this for research for my classes when we have our poetry unit.  I was looking for poetry that would be relevant to the lives of my students and a bonus if the poems were produced to become songs.

I didn't expect that I would get sucked into Tupac's rhythmic poetry and by extension, his own story.  I'm not much of a poetry person.  It's just not a medium that I get.  Not like I get longer fiction reads.  But I love that this is a medium for speaking our truths in a way that we can't in a book or in any other way.  Some truths and stories just need to be said out loud.  Said or rapped or sung so that our words have power and meaning in them.  Tupac showed me that poetry is more than just words on a page.  It's a line directly to the heart of a person.  If I read your poems, I can know you.  And that's a pretty great connection to make, if you ask me.

I'll keep this review quick, but do consider picking up this book.  It's made even better because the poems are typeset, but you can also see copies of the originals in Tupac's handwriting with doodles in the margins, occasionally.

I give 'The Rose That Grew from Concrete':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude