These poems by Maria Testa are in
the voice of a young teenage girl. Her
family is from Kosova, and they same to America when she was five to escape the
war there. She was a victim of that
war, having been caught in their burning home, and being badly burned over most
of her body. Only her face
escaped. She wears scarves to hide her
neck. The girl writes mostly about her
father, who is angry with America. The
family came because they wanted their daughter to get the best medical
treatment, and they wanted safety. But
now they can’t return to their homeland.
So now they live in a small town that has also attracted many other
immigrants and refugees. The girl’s mother
and father work at a frozen chicken factory.
Her father seethes with resentment about his new life. Then the mayor of
the town makes a statement that they have enough immigrants and they don’t want
any more. Suddenly, the girl’s father
is organizing and participating in a rally, fighting the hate and
hate-groups. This brings the family
together and helps heal some of tensions between them.

This is a short book, with just 85
pages of poems with just a few words on each line. The form is blank verse, and the words are simple. With great economy, Testa conveys the girl’s
feelings about her scarring from the fire, her worries and frustration with her
father, and her identity as a new immigrant, without the same accent as her
parents. The poems capture various
thoughts and insights and while they don’t startle, they are subtle and
engaging. These days poetry is a form
that most young people only read when they are forced by their teachers, but
many children could enjoy Something About America.

© 2005 Christian Perring. All
rights reserved. 

Christian
Perring, Ph.D., is Academic Chair of the Arts & Humanities
Division and Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dowling College, Long
Island. He is also editor of Metapsychology Online Review.  His
main research is on philosophical issues in medicine, psychiatry and
psychology.

Categories: Children