Luis Talamantez (born April 10, 1943) is an American writer, poet, and prisoner's rights activist. He gained widespread recognition in the 1970s as a member of the

San Quentin Six The San Quentin Six were six inmates at San Quentin State Prison in the U.S. state of California who were charged with actions related to an August 21, 1971 Prison escape, escape attempt that resulted in six deaths and at least two persons seriousl ...

, a group of men charged with inciting the riot which killed three guards and three inmates, including George Jackson. Talamantez published his poetry while incarcerated and is perhaps best known for his collection of poetry, titled ''Life Within the Heart Imprisoned''. Born in Los Angeles on April 10, 1943, Talamantez was arrested for a $130 robbery and sentenced to two

life sentences Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

when he was only 22 years old. While incarcerated in San Quentin, Talamantez took an active role educating and organizing

Chicano Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...

prisoners. He claimed that this made him a target to the prison officials, who went so far as to try to frame him for assault, a charge which a jury dismissed. In 1971, San Quentin officials charged Talamantez, along with Hugo Pinell, Willie Tate, Johnny Larry Spain, David Johnson, and Fleeta Drumgo, with participating in an August 21, 1971

escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some so ...

attempt to free George Jackson, a co-founder of the

Black Guerrilla Family The Black Guerrilla Family (BGF, also known as the Black Family, the Black Vanguard, and Jamaa) is an African-American black power prison and street gang founded in 1966 by George Jackson, George "Big Jake" Lewis, and W. L. Nolen while they wer ...

. The escape attempt sparked a riot which left six people dead. The 16-month trial of the San Quentin Six was the longest in the state's history at the time and was dubbed "The Longest Trial" by ''Time'' magazine. Talamantez was found not guilty on all charges in 1971, and was released on parole on August 20, 1976. In 1985, Talamantez was reported to be "living in the south."

Works

*''Life Within the Heart Imprisoned: The Collected Poems of Luis Talamantez'' (Fidelity Printing, 1976).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talamantez, Luis 1943 births 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets Activists for Hispanic and Latino American civil rights American people of Mestizo descent American poets of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American poets Latin Americanists Mestizo writers Living people

Works

See also

References