Customer Reviews

Stars Scattered Like Seeds

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Jeanne Shannon's "Stars Scattered like Seeds": is a marvelous collection of stories and poems about a childhood in Appalachian Virginia. I kept imagining how well this book would serve to inspire classes in high school and college to write actual, fictionalized, or lyrical memoir capturing the intense emotions and sensual aliveness of the young. The format of the book is itself a pleasure, with pages full of white space, and poetry and song intermingled with prose. Shannon's work is beautifully crafted. I found myself re-reading her first and last sentences as invariably perfect examples of how to get a reader immediately involved, and then imaginatively released. Shannon's style and content are inseparable. Her chapter on "Cocoa Fudge," for example, is so sensuously captivating that I may never be able to read a recipe again without consciousness of the poetry in the simple listing of ingredients and what to do with them. And she uses the making of fudge to tell a sensitive story of early romance and sexuality. Humor and pathos are touchingly combined throughout.

This book interweaves poetry with short fiction and creative memoir. It focuses on the author's native culture, which is rooted in the southern Appalachian Mountains and subject to inescapable Baptist influences. This world is related to the reader through the eyes of narrator Audrey Yates, and the stories possesses a poetic quality. Some of the poet's verse, however, relies too heavily on disembodied imagery, although many of her poems succeed in creating a powerful picture.

I love "Stars Scattered Like Seeds". Gently, but with pinpoint accuracy, Jeanne Shannon draws the characters of her Appalachian childhood and meticulously crafts these wonderful narratives and poems. Amongst the pages are scattered an occasional bit of music, a sketch, a photo. They are like finding an extra chocolate chip in an already delectable cookie.

This is a book to be savored. I planned to read it in one or two sittings, but it's impossible. I find myself immersed in a tale, going back to reread bits of it, closing my eyes to visualize a character, to feel their emotions, to smell the smells and hear the sounds of the story. Often something will trigger a memory of my own childhood and send me onto a path of remembrance. Jeanne Shannon's writing beautifully shows us how varied and complex are the threads that weave the tapestry of our lives. It is a wonderful work and I highly recommend it.