I Dreamed I Had a Girl in My Pocket [Paperback]

Wendy Ewald (Author)

Book Description

A remarkable book of photographs accompanied by moving and often disturbing testimonies by the children about their lives within the caste system, their families, fears, futures, and dreams.

This unique book of photographs and text takes place in the 2000-year-old village of Vichya in the desert of Gujarati, India. There, photographer and teacher Wendy Ewald lived and taught twenty of the village's children, ages ten to fourteen years, the art and craft of photography.

Whether they attend school or work the fields, whether they are untouchables or of another caste, the children speak chillingly of their concern over their impending marriages and stories of bride-burning, of their hopes and dreams, and of their almost unanimous desire to photograph the gods.

The children's pictures and oral histories are joined with Ewald's evocative observations and images of the town and its people. 60 duotone photographs

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Ewald, a contributing photographer to the publication DoubleTake, issued quarterly by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, has also received NEA, Fulbright, and MacArthur fellowships for her studies of children and culture in Appalachia and Colombia. Continuing this work, Ewald traveled to India in 1989 to explore the teaching of photography to a group of children in the small village of Vichya in northwestern India. The results of her seven-month stay are depicted here in three main sections: portraits of each of her 20 students taken by Ewald and accompanied by their personal statements; the author's photographs of the area; and, finally, the images made by the children themselves. As a photoessay, this is neither as strong nor as evocative as another project, Black Self/White Self, that Ewald began in 1989, photographs from which were published in the Summer 1996 issue of DoubleTake. (Fifth- and sixth-graders from North Carolina were given the task of portraying themselves as a different race through manipulation of a photographic self-portrait.) However, this work is still a fascinating ethnographic study that is appropriate for social and cultural issues areas but recommended only for comprehensive photographic collections.?Kathy J. Anderson, Indiana Univ., Bloomington
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

An award-winning writer, photographer, and teacher, Wendy Ewald is dedicated to social change and children's issues. She has taught in Appalachia, Columbia, on Canadian Native reservations, and in Mexico as well as in many communities in the United States. She lives in Rhinebeck, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (May 17, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393314278
• ISBN-13: 978-0393314274
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 9.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,807,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Book, April 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: I Dreamed I Had a Girl in My Pocket (Paperback)

I Dreamed I Had a Girl in My Pocket is one of the best non-fiction works that I have picked up in recent memory. It was so wonderful it made me cry at its beauty.
Ms. Ewald traveled to India to a remote village where foreigners are few and far between. There, she took photos of the children of the village, many of whom are either untouchables or close to it, and illustrated their pictures with stories and anecdotes.
What I was struck most by was the way in which the children learned photography and took their own pictures (included) and the dignity it brought to their lives. It saddened me to read some of the essays and learn about the vioelnce and loss that these young people have faced and hope that through Ms. Ewald's tutelage, that some, or at least one, will be able to break the cycle of poverty that they are in.
I am quite sure that every child she met will never forget her kindness and attention. She also includes her photos of the area, but it is the direct images with the children that are haunting my heart.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Evocative Voice of Vichiya`s lad Chandrakant Chauhan, March 25, 2006

By 

Chandrakant Chauhan "Chandu" (Vichiya India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Dreamed I Had a Girl in My Pocket (Paperback)

i want to re-document this book as "i dreamed i had money in my pocket".i am degreeless designer,engineer and may be GG(GIA).
i am one of the kid tought by wendy ewald at my village vichiya.
the book shows my village,myself and our story of childhood.
i want to work out this project as document and may be documentory film for my village.
i dont have nothing in my hand and pocket to work it out.if the people of amazon.com sponsor the project i will be thankful to them.