by Sandra Wallus Sammons
Pineapple
Press Biography Series 2010
Intended for
ages 9 - 12
I have long
been interested in Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. We both graduated from the
University of Wisconsin – Madison English Department, although eighty years
apart. We both found our way to the wild scrub of central Florida and made our
homes here. Our writing was fundamentally influenced by the Florida scrub. For
whatever spiritual simplicity that desert or arctic landscapes bring to those
that travel there, the Florida scrub has a unique harshness that speaks to some
people. I always appreciated the parallels in our lives and somehow imagine
that we might have been friends.
I picked up
Sammons’ biography on Rawlings because I had read many of her other
biographies. Her approach is straightforward, simple, and clear. I came to
appreciate the lack of poetic device that so often crowds biographical writing.
Instead, her prose allows the reader to connect easily to the story. Only fifty pages long, this brisk book covers
the entirety of Rawlings’ life, from her birth in Washington DC to her legacy
after her death at the age of fifty-seven. Each chapter describes a particular
phase in her life.
As a writer,
I could relate to Rawlings’ early struggles with her writing career. As someone who has moved a lot, I could feel
the tension between being a strange newcomer and finding a place to call home.
Rawlings’ life was one of wild variance. She felt most at home among the
glowing oranges of her grove, but also was an honored guest at the White House
and won the Pulitzer. She felt incredibly connected to the local people but
ended up with a defamation suit in court.
Sammons
rightfully doesn’t try to make philosophical conclusions about these
dichotomies. She doesn’t overplay their importance in Rawlings’ life either. The historic photographs add wonderful visual details. I
definitely recommend this book as a great introduction to an important Florida
literary figure, especially for its young intended audience.