279 words · 1 min
The Rose That Grew from Concrete
Tupac's poems from 1989 to 1991, published in 1999 by Pocket Books/MTV Books as facsimiles of his handwriting with typed transcriptions.
- Author
- Tupac Shakur
- Published
- November 1, 1999, Pocket Books (MTV Books imprint), New York
- Length
- 149 pages (first edition); the 2009 reissue runs 176 pages
- ISBN
- 0-671-02844-8
- Contributions
- preface by Afeni Shakur, foreword by poet Nikki Giovanni, introduction by Leila Steinberg
- Language
- English; no German translation is listed in the German National Library catalog
The Rose That Grew from Concrete is Tupac’s own book of poetry. It collects poems he wrote between 1989 and 1991, at 18 to 20, before he was famous as a rapper. The title comes from the poem of the same name: a rose pushing up through a crack in the pavement, an image for someone who blooms despite everything around them.
About the book
What it covers
The poems deal with love and heartbreak, poverty, racism, friendship, faith, and the question of who he wanted to be. Many are reproduced in facsimile, just as Tupac wrote them by hand, crossings-out, idiosyncratic spelling and little symbols such as an eye for “I”. Almost every one comes with a typed transcription that keeps his spelling intact. A few pages add drawings and photos.
Afeni Shakur wrote the preface. Leila Steinberg, who championed and managed Tupac early on, explains how the pieces came out of her writing circle in the Bay Area.
Assessment
A primary source and Tupac’s best-known book. It shows the young poet behind the later image. As literature the poems are youthful and uneven; their value lies in how direct they are. In 2000 an album of the same name followed, with other artists performing the poems.
Leila Steinberg’s name is sometimes spelled “Steinburg”; the correct name is Leila Steinberg. More texts: Poems.
People in this text