Hear These Voices: Youth at the Edge of the Millennium [Hardcover]

Anthony Allison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1999

Here is an extraordinary journey into the hearts and minds of teenagers at risk around the globe. In these eight remarkable interviews, photographer and documentarian Anthony Allison invites readers to share in the life experiences of his subjects through in-depth, first-person narration and startlingly reverent black-and-white portraits. As Carl Sandburg said of Edward Steichen's work, here are "faces beyond forgetting." Aged ten to nineteen, the protagonists of this unflinchingly honest collection tell what it is like to grow up in a world fraught with obstacles: family abuse and homelessness in Denver and South Africa; rampant violence in Belfast and New York City; drug and alcohol abuse in a Lakota community in South Dakota and the Ukraine; HIV/AIDS infection in Bangkok and San Francisco. Although their stories may not end "happily ever after," all the subjects have benefited from the intervention of grass-roots organizations. These caring adult mentors also add their voices to the book. Well placed within the tradition of activist social documentary that includes James Agee and Studs Terkel, Hear These Voices offers an unforgettable portrait of a neglected but vibrant segment of our population--truly a rich challenge to carry into the twenty-first century, given to us by the generation who ultimately will be its leaders.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"I tell the people that I kick it with, don't trust me. Not because I'm untrustworthy, but if you think you can trust me, then you'll start thinking you can trust somebody else. You just don't trust nobody."

For a teenager living on the streets, such is the wisdom you must embrace to stay alive. Hear These Voices offers a glimpse into the steely lives of 15 at-risk youths, ages 10 to 19, who are trying to better themselves and rise above astonishing circumstances. The stories range from that of Muay in Thailand, whose stepfather sold her into prostitution at age 10, to Carrie in Denver, Colorado, who was bounced from foster homes to shelters and gang raped before she decided to move and pursue her dream of getting her GED. In this forum, kids are finally allowed to speak for themselves, accents and vernacular making their voices ring all the more clearly: "Sometimes I do feel like I'm important, but sometimes, when my father beat me until I couldn't see, I thought to kill myself." The stories are mesmerizing, especially as complemented by Anthony Allison's telling black-and-white photography.

Each of these youths already has experienced more pain than most people will witness in a lifetime, and their histories are accordingly heartbreaking. Allison makes sure, however, that readers come away not dejected but with a strong sense of hope. All of the teens have been helped by various social-service groups or schools--small, struggling organizations filled with remarkable adults who refuse to let troubled kids slip through society's cracks. Hear These Voices will alternately shock and lift any teenager's spirits, but may also inspire adults to give more to the community of young people. As Allison simply requests of adults, "We hope you hear how these young people are challenging us to turn our ideals for a better society into reality." (Ages 12 and older) --Brangien Davis

From Publishers Weekly

Photographer and youth counselor Allison debuts with a volume comprised of 18 accounts of teens who have overcome extraordinary obstacles, but frames the profiles in a way that detracts from the testimonies. The first chapter begins with a composite picture of life on the streets of Johannesburg and Pretoria through the words of several teenagers; the following chapters highlight one or two teenagers' stories. Although the subjects vary in nationality, race and gender, they share an underlying spirit of self-reliance and a commitment to change as they tackle problems that range from drug addiction to civil unrest in Northern Ireland; one girl, sold into prostitution in Thailand at the age of 10, is now in a training program to educate her native village about AIDS. Atmospheric black-and-white photographs transport readers to each subject's environs. For example, runaway Carrie is shown emerging from her makeshift lodgings under a bridge in Denver, Colo., to head to her part-time job. Unfortunately, the chapters end jarringly with commentary from adults who are involved with the programs and organizations helping these teens. Unlike the kids profiled, who speak to their peers, the adults address other adults ("I think a lot of these kids don't trust anyone") with a didacticism that will be a turnoff to most readers. Ironically, despite the fact that many of the teens included here are involved in helping others like themselves, the book never tells readers how they might participate?or find help themselves. This book aims high but misses its mark. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525453539
• ISBN-13: 978-0525453536
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,241,343 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heart-wrenching and important, July 11, 2002

By 

Charlotte Vale-Allen (CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Hear These Voices: Youth at the Edge of the Millennium (Hardcover)

This is an unexpected book in the sense that it (a) allows young people to speak for themselves and, (b) what the young people (from all over the world) have to say about their joys and woes grips the heart and mind of the reader and leaves one feeling that more simply must be done for our children.

Covering everything from an Asian child sold into sexual slavery, to African boys thrown away by their families, to a midwestern American gay, to girlfriends in Northern Ireland, Alison's stark photos are a gritty compliment to the voices that speak with painful honesty. There is a universal commonality that ties these young people together--their desire to do something with their lives, their need to be valued, and their overwhelming responsiveness to help and love when it's offered by some very special, very caring people who also get to speak.

Every family with a troubled child, and every troubled child, should have a copy of this book. It is a tool that could bridge a lot of the gaps between parents and children.
Most highly recommended.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MAGNIFICENT!, September 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Hear These Voices: Youth at the Edge of the Millennium (Hardcover)

After reading Allison's work I was immobile, for it left me so spellbound, and in a state of awe that i felt i was incapable to continue. Such insightful and intellignet documentation is rare and few works compare to this. Thought prevoking and highly reccomended.

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential read, September 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Hear These Voices: Youth at the Edge of the Millennium (Hardcover)

Allison here captures vivid emotion in eloquent style within the borders of his black and white photographs. A captivating and moving work. Strongly recommended.