Analysis: Out of the Dust
Abstract
Karen Hesse's book Out of the Dust takes an unconventional approach to fiction, depicting the events of a full-length novel in a number of free verse poems. The tale of a family of farmers attempting to survive the Dust Bowl, Hesse's work is fascinating in its minimalism and heartbreaking in its focus. Hesse's free verse prose lends a childlike sense of simplicity and wonder to these heavy themes, showing just how dramatic these conditions can affect a child of that age; the result is an intelligent and thoughtful book on life in the Dust Bowl.
Karen Hesse's book Out of the ...