I picked one from the book shelf, that I’ve never read before, “Lost in the City” by Edward P. Jones. I’ll spend a few days on this one since I’d like to read the whole book.
“The First Day” is a young girl’s firsthand account of her first day of school accompanied by her mother. Her mother initially tries to enroll her at the school across the street from her church but they’re turned away because they live outside the zone and are sent to a different school.
What stands out for me in this brief story is Jones’ description of all the little things, starting in the beginning when he writes, “I am wearing yellow socks trimmed with thin lines of black and white around the tops. My shoes are my greatest joy, black patent-leather miracles, and when one is nicked at the toes later that morning in class, my heart will break.”
The young girl observes the woman at the school that turns her away, “The woman who greets us has pearls thick as jumbo marbles that come down almost to her navel, and she acts as if she had known me all my life, touching my shoulder, cupping her hand under my chin.”
There’s a sensitivity in the writing to the small things that stand out to the girl that Jones does such an amazing job of letting us see and hear from her perspective;
Somewhere in the room a child is crying, a cry that rises aove the buzz-talk of so many people. Strewn about the floor are dozens and dozens of pieces of white paper, and people are walking over them without any thought of picking them up. And seeing this lack of concern, I am all of a sudden afraid.
I love what I’ve read so far. More tomorrow.
Failed Poetry 