Born in
Detroit,
Michigan, to a middle class black family, Donald Goines was addicted to heroin at various points in his life. Goines accomplished an amazing feat by churning out 16 books in just five years. He began his writing career while serving time at Michigan's Jackson Penitentiary, where he was influenced by the work of Iceberg Slim. In his vivid depictions of ghetto and prison life, Goines employed both standard English and black English to great effect.[sup]
[2][/sup]
Some of Goines's novels have become films, such as
Never Die Alone,[sup]
[3][/sup] which starred
DMX,and "Crime Partners",which starred
Ice-T,
Snoop Dogg ,and
Ja Rule[sup]
[4][/sup].A minor independent movie made of his life was released in
2003. Goines's better known works include
Black Gangster, the semi-autobiographical
Whoreson,
Dopefiend,
Street Players,
Eldorado Red,
Daddy Cool (which was made into a graphic novel) and
White Man's Justice, Black Man's Grief.
Inner City Hoodlum, which Goines had finished before his death, was published posthumously in 1975. The story, set in
Los Angeles, was about "
smack", money and murder
