When most people open a book and see that it's all poetry, the quickly put it back down. Poetry has "scared people off" for decades, but Karen Hesse is working hard to change that. In WItness (Scholastic Publishing, 2001 ISBN: 0-439-27200-9) , Hesse has written it entirely in poetic form, but it is completely understandable and actually makes the reading easier! Readers who like historical fiction, but do not like the book length that generally goes along with it are sure to enjoy Witness.
Witness: The Plot
Eleven different voices from a small Vermont town narrate this intricate story by Karen Hesse. The town is quiet and everyone keeps to themselves, until the Ku Klux Klan comes in. They do not make a splash or make any loud decrees, but they slowly and quietly infiltrate the mind’s of many town members. Readers follow an old store owner and even a town constable as the Klan begins to sway their thoughts and gets them to act differently.
Most of the town is still oblivious to the Klan’s affect, until one day, shots are fired at an innocent six-year old Jewish girl. Unaware of the Klan’s hatred towards the Jewish race as well, little Esther and the woman with whom she is staying are shocked, like much of the rest of the town. Then the only black girl in the town begins to receive threats on her life, and suddenly this quiet town’s people begin to question the Klan's involvement.
Told in free verse poems by each character, Hesse allows the reader to see the changes in thought that occur in these people and really examines the ability of one mental framework or belief to subversively work it's way into people's minds, often without them fully realizing it until it's almost too late. This makes for a very impactful and socially-conscious novel. At only 140 pages or so, Witness is not only accessible, but also a very quick read.
About Karen Hesse
Karen Hesse was born in Maryland in 1952 and went on to study theatre, English, psychology and anthropology in college, before marrying her current husband, Scott. They soon moved to Vermont with their two children and Hesse began writing young adult books. She has written 20 books for young adults, most of which have a historical setting, for which she won the Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award in 1998. That same year, Hesse also won the Newberry Medal for her novel Out of the Dust. She was also a recipient of the MacArthur fellowship in 2002.
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