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A review by nglofile
1919 by Eve L. Ewing
5.0
"A precision that is both beautiful and deeply uncomfortable..."
The above originated in an NPR review of Electric Arches, but the sentiment perfectly encapsulates the experience of 1919.
The creative vision that sparked this work is alone worthy of exclamation: craft verse in conversation with passages from a 1922 report (The Negro in Chicago: A Study on Race Relations and a Race Riot) to shine a light on a criminally unknown event and what resonance it still holds today. The forms of poetry vary, but one element held in common is the illumination of truth, as well as what the reader/listener might do with this newfound understanding.
The structure is eminently accessible; concise entries and overall brevity might entice casual curiosity. However, once phrases are taken in, the impact is inescapable. I might cite specific poems that moved me to break away for contemplation (the candidates would be many), but if I were to cite only one it would have to be "there is no poem for this" wherein the poet simply quotes a particularly heinous encounter and allows it sit with no additional comment. That restraint speaks volumes.
When a heavily redacted memo pleading for tempered response, one that is revealed to have been received in anticipation of verdict for a racially charged trial in late 2018, is juxtaposed with the events of the Red Summer race riots, the option of looking away is untenable.
This is an elegant, powerful work that is destined to prompt both conversation and, one can only hope, change.
The above originated in an NPR review of Electric Arches, but the sentiment perfectly encapsulates the experience of 1919.
The creative vision that sparked this work is alone worthy of exclamation: craft verse in conversation with passages from a 1922 report (The Negro in Chicago: A Study on Race Relations and a Race Riot) to shine a light on a criminally unknown event and what resonance it still holds today. The forms of poetry vary, but one element held in common is the illumination of truth, as well as what the reader/listener might do with this newfound understanding.
The structure is eminently accessible; concise entries and overall brevity might entice casual curiosity. However, once phrases are taken in, the impact is inescapable. I might cite specific poems that moved me to break away for contemplation (the candidates would be many), but if I were to cite only one it would have to be "there is no poem for this" wherein the poet simply quotes a particularly heinous encounter and allows it sit with no additional comment. That restraint speaks volumes.
When a heavily redacted memo pleading for tempered response, one that is revealed to have been received in anticipation of verdict for a racially charged trial in late 2018, is juxtaposed with the events of the Red Summer race riots, the option of looking away is untenable.
This is an elegant, powerful work that is destined to prompt both conversation and, one can only hope, change.