Reviewed by June Lehman
for The Milwaukee Sentinel
Jean
Sheldon has definitely put forth a “jelly side up” experience
for the reader. When I first saw this little volume, which
combines poetry and art, I said, “This is the book I have been
waiting for my entire life.” Then I called almost everyone I
knew and read them excerpts. Then I bought several to give to
friends.
A native
Chicagoan and graphic artist, she has lived in New Mexico for
the past 2 decades. This collection of poems and
black-and-white artwork was compiled over a four-year period.
It expresses human feelings and experiences about, as Sheldon
says, “everything from serenity to complete panic.” Poems
range in length from a few lines to longer pieces. For
example, the
She has been noticing of late—
dreams
falling one after another
to the
floor— jelly side down.
This kind of bittersweet poignancy permeates the poems
throughout the book. You are not sure if you should laugh or
cry, or both, but you are sure that you have been there. One
poem begins with these lines:
She won’t be coming back this way... She has grown weary.
Weary of the dust in the corner where the broom
never
quite reached
The final lines…
...don’t ever let those bastards get to you honey...
don’t you
ever let them get you down
The artwork varies from intricate line drawings to simple
pen-and-ink drawings and sketches. Some are abstract; some are
realistic. Still others are shapes for which the viewer can
impart his or her own meaning. The author/artist has used
several of the sketches as the basis for oil paintings.
“Jelly
Side Down” is an exquisite book, with 54 illustrations and 55
poems. Its small and large truths should be shared with those
you love and those you want to.
