View source for Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun

{{short description|1995 memoir by Geoffrey Canada}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox book
|name = Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun
|orig title =
|translator =
|image = Fist-Stick-Knife-Gun-Canada-Geoffrey.jpg
|image_size = 200px
|caption =
|author = [[Geoffrey Canada]]
|cover_artist =
|country = United States
|language = English
|subject       = Memoir, Family conflict, Youth violence
|publisher= January 31, 1995 [[Beacon Press]]
|media_type = Print (Paperback and Hardcover)
|pages = 192
|isbn = 978-0-8070-0423-4
|congress =
|preceded_by =
|followed_by = Reaching Up For Manhood: Transforming the Lives of Boys in America}}
'''''Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence''''' is a memoir by American social activist [[Geoffrey Canada]].<ref name=nyt>{{cite magazine|accessdate=March 18, 2011|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9507E7D91030F933A15755C0A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|magazine=[[New York Times Magazine]]|title=The Harlem Project|date=June 20, 2004|author=Paul Tough|author-link=Paul Tough}}</ref> [[Beacon Press]] published the book on January 31, 1995.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.betterworldbooks.com/fist-stick-knife-gun-id-0807004235.aspx|title=Fist Stick Knife Gun|accessdate=March 19, 2011|publisher=[[Better World Books]]}}</ref>
Beacon published a [[graphic novel]] adaptation of the book in 2010, illustrated by [[Jamar Nicholas]].
==Overview==
Canada recalls growing up in an [[inner city]] neighborhood of [the [[South Bronx]]<ref>Canada, Geoffrey. Fist, Stick, Knife.Gun. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA USA: Beacon Press, 1995. 13. Print.</ref>] in the 1950s and 1960s. He details the social expectations and culture that promoted violence among children such as himself and his brothers.<ref name=nyt/> He writes about how he and the other boys in the area had parents command them to counter violence and threats (real or perceived) in kind by fighting back. That parental mindset, argues Canada, is certainly well-intentioned but has devastating consequences for children. He also recalls his own familial issues being raised in [[Single-parent|fatherless]] [[Poverty in the United States|poverty]].<ref name=lat/>
Canada writes, "many times children as young as six and seven would bring weapons to school, or pick up bottles, bricks, or whatever was at hand." He also says, "The first rules I learned on Union Avenue stayed with me for all of my youth. They were simple and straightforward. Don't cry. Don't act afraid. Don't tell your mother. Take it like a man. Don't let ''no one'' take your manhood" (emphasis in original).<ref name=lat/>
Canada asserts that the culture of violence has been compounded in the decades since he grew up. He cites increases in [[recreational drug use]] and handgun usage. He specifically refers to the about 50,000 American children killed by guns between 1979 and 1991 to support his argument. Canada concludes that inner-city neighborhoods must enact measures restricting handgun manufacture and possession as well as create [[:wikt:safe haven|safe haven]] areas for children.<ref name=lat/>
== Graphic novel adaptation ==
[[File:Fist Stick Knife Gun - Graphic Book.jpg|thumb|right|A panel from the graphic novel, with the young Geoffrey Canada at left]]
In the mid-[[2000s]], [[Beacon Press]] began considering publishing an alternate [[graphic novel]] version. Illustrator [[Jamar Nicholas]] and editor Allison Trzop created ''Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence (A True Story in Black and White)'', which was released in stores on September 14, 2010.<ref name=graphic>{{cite web|url=http://www.beaconbroadside.com/broadside/2010/09/fist-stick-knife-gun.html|date=September 15, 2010|title=Fist Stick Knife Gun: From Memoir to Graphic Book|publisher=[[Beacon Broadside]]|accessdate=March 18, 2011}}</ref>
==Reception==
''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' praised the book, stating that "A more powerful depiction of the tragic life of urban children and a more compelling plea to end 'America's war against itself' cannot be imagined."<ref name=graphic/>
''[[The Los Angeles Times]]'' published a mostly positive review by author and arts critic [[Jabari Asim]]. Asim wrote that "[i]nterspersing his personal memoir with calls for policy reform gives Canada's book a patina of street-cred' that often compensates for his pedestrian language." He also remarked that "Canada is unlikely to convert naysayers to his cause... preaching to the choir seldom results in anything" while also praising Canada's "eloquence and admirable passion.<ref name=lat>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-07-02-bk-19313-story.html|title=A Path to Manhood : FIST STICK KNIFE GUN: A Personal History of Violence in America, By Geoffrey Canada (Beacon Press: $20; 192 pp.) : WOODHOLME: A Black Man's Story of Growing Up Alone, By DeWayne Wickham (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $20; 276 pp.)|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=April 13, 2011|date=July 2, 1995|author=Jabari Asim|author-link=Jabari Asim}}</ref>
The [[literary magazine]] ''San Francisco Book Review'' praised the graphic novel version, stating:
{{quote|The problem with gang violence is that it is rarely explored in a personal fashion, and from the perspective of the black male as a victim of his society. ''Fist Stick Knife Gun'' is... an excellent personal story and has a nice flowing narrative; it is nice to see an autobiography that also works as an actual story. More to the point, it also works as a warning, as he explores his feelings toward the various escalations and why he feels that is necessary to use the particular weapon at that time, and his final rejection of that lifestyle, as it leads ultimately to death.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=San Francisco Book Review|date=November 7, 2010|title=Fist Stick Knife Gun|accessdate=April 13, 2011|url=https://smartsguru.com/best-ulu-knife/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420140904/https://smartsguru.com/best-ulu-knife/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 20, 2021}}</ref>}}
==See also==
{{Portal| Books }}
* [[Harlem Children's Zone]]
* [[1995 in literature]]
* [[List of autobiographies]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://www.scribd.com/doc/37166618/Fist-Stick-Knife-Gun-A-Personal-History-of-Violence-A-True-Story-in-Black-White Graphic novel 1st chapter on] [[scribd.com]]
[[Category:1995 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:American autobiographies]]
[[Category:Harlem]]
[[Category:Beacon Press books]]