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

Sometime before 1818, an enslaved young man named Dave was brought to Edgefield, in the
heart of South Carolina’s pottery-producing area. From the time he was first taught to turn a
potter’s wheel, Dave showed exceptional natural talent. Soon he was creating pieces of great
beauty and often massive size. He also learned to read and write, even though South Carolina
had laws prohibiting slave literacy. And then Dave did something even more daring: he began to
sign his jars and carve many of them ...