Something Permanent

I'm accustomed to Cynthia Rylant's childrens books, so her poetry here was a fascinating departure to me. Loved the choice of Depression era photographs by Walker Evans, and Rylant's companion poems were quite interesting. Hard to pick a favorite here.

Photographs from the Great Depression paired with poems by Cynthia Rylant . . . loved the idea, but was a bit disappointed in the outcome. The copyright is 1994, so maybe no one is even interested in a review at this point, but here it is. I liked the variety of topics, but felt that, overall, the poems and photos could have given a more distinctive view of that time. "Shoes" was perhaps my favorite poem along with "Utensils" and its accompanying photograph. "Minstrels," however, implied that African Americans wholeheartedly enjoyed their part in a show that stereotyped them and undermined their intelligence. I wonder, in this terrible age of mass murder by guns, if Rylant might rethink her "Gunshop" poem now. I'm also confused as to show more how newspaper on the wall frustrates mosquitoes. show less