Etched in Clay: The Life of Dave, Enslaved Potter and Poet

There are so many things to love about this book it is hard to know where to start. This book was a pleasure from cover to cover. This "narrative biography, told in verse" uses words the way Dave used his sharp stick - to carve words that seem simple but hold great power. The wood block illustrations are carved as well giving this collection an "etched" feeling in every way.

Andrea Cheng combines the words left behind by Dave (Drake) on the pottery he shaped as a slave in the early nineteenth century with the imagined musings, "dramatic extensions" of truth and reflections of the people around him. This book is a treasure and illustrates the internal conflicts of those who believed in the mid-1800's that slaves should be educated and show more that the human spirit will always find a way to make it's mark on history. This is a book to buy, to share and to aspire to. As Dave says "... when I write, I am a man." These are words you don't want to miss. show less

Etched in Clay: The Life of Dave, Enslaved Potter and Poet by Andrea Cheng is for older readers (Publisher Lee & Low suggests grade 5 and up). In this book, the author imagines Dave’s personal history in verse form, occasionally illustrated by handmade woodcuts also by the author.

I found the story as told by this author absolutely devastating, although I don’t know if younger readers would feel, as strongly as I did, the pain of the injustice and loss suffered by Dave. There is this etching, for example, from one of Dave’s pots:

"I wonder where is all my relation
friendship to all – and, every nation"
August 16, 1857

In fact, however, I imagine that most readers will take away an appreciation of Dave’s triumph over adversity show more through his courageous insistence on showing the world that, although a slave, he could create, and he could write, and he could be so good at it that he could get away with it. show less

This narrative in poems quietly gives dimension to a man about whom we know little, other than his talent in pottery and being literate in a time when it was illegal for slaves to know how to read and write. It's inspired me to read further into Dave's story and learn more about the pottery that came out of the area. An illuminating work.

The publisher classifies this book as biography but I don't see how enough facts of Dave's life can be pieced together to offer a full accounting of his life. The facts of his life are too sketchy to avoid speculation and fictionalized dialogue and interactions which Cheng obviously creates that in this book. That being said, Cheng does take what is known of Dave's life and weaves it together into a compelling, poignant verse narrative. See also Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill and Bryan Collier.

“Etched in Clay”, by Andrea Cheng is about a enslaved potter named Dave. Dave was a excellent potter but was a slave sometime before 1818 that could read and write. He wasn't afraid to write on the side of his great jars, rebelling against slavery silently yet making his voice heard around the world. “Etched in Clay” also tells the story of Dave’s life with his master's, family and friends. During Dave’s life he lost a leg, had two wives and had five masters. With his first master at the age of 17 he learned how to make great big jars and found to love pottery. Even after the Civil war he had nothing to do and know where to go, he still went to the turning house to figure out what kind of jar he was going to make that day show more until he died.
“Etched in Clay”, is a story that tells about a time where people owned people and where we were once divided. This book may be full historic fact poems but it tells us so much about our past and how we have grown in this modern day world. When I think back to this particular time with slavery I even imagine what my life would be like if the Union didn’t win the war. I think this book can connect us to Dave and the past because Dave was fighting against slavery silently and strong. Taking a risk so boldly knowing that you get could die because of it, that is what made Dave stand out, that is inspiration telling us, “Don’t sit around and watch, take action in what you believe is right.” After thinking hard about I know that if I were Dave I wouldn’t know what to do but I think I would do just the same. So “Etched in Clay” is inspiring and telling us a lesson without realizing it, we, can change the world. show less

This prose book had me engrossed. Those in alternating narratives with Dave and his slave owners, I read it in one sitting. What a powerful story about a fascinating artist and man.

This is a wonderful collection of poetry about Dave, an educated slave living in South Carolina in the 1800's, who was a poet, a potter, and an artist. Various people have written these pieces about his life, and it's a wonderful portrait of this man whose work we still admire today. This would be well paired with "Dave the Potter", a picture book.