The Rose that Grew from Concrete

Shakur, Tupac. The Rose That Grew from Concrete. New York: Pocket Books, 1999.  Print. ISBN-13: 978-0671028442. Paperback. $14.93

This young adult poetry collection was written by Tupac Amaru Shakur covers a wide range of subjects, from the realities of government assistance to tributees to Marilyn Monroe. In the tradition of E.E. Cummings, Tupac forgoes traditional rhyme schemes, punctuation and spelling. Many of the poems include ideograms and revisions such as line outs and scribbles. The book includes a forward by the poet Nikki Giovanni and a preface by his mother, Afeni Shakur. The handwritten poems exhibit a range of emotion that would have been lost in a traditional typed font.

I would recommend this book for adolescents who exhibit a love of modern rap/hip-hop as a gateway to poetry. The unusual format and inventive word play provide a unique way of looking at poetry as a form of lyrics. The reading and comprehension level for this book is for early to mid teens.