Sharon McCartney takes a fresh new look at Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House” books in her latest collection of poems, The Love Song of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Using quotations from various “Little House” books, McCartney writes her poems from every angle, from every perspective, except the most conventional, which gives the reader a rich taste of McCartney’s finely crafted talents. Many of her poems feature the speaker as an inanimate object. Ranging from axes and brooms to dresses and dead babies, McCartney integrates many different aspects of Prairie life into her collection. For instance, “Laura’s Needle” describes the disappointment and betrayal a sewing needle feels when Laura shows her obvious disinterest in sewing after she runs outside to escape it.

Each of McCartney’s poems reads as a unique experience, as unique as the objects she is personifying. Her language is concise and effective, providing the reader with a vivid and lyrical account of Prairie life, but not the same account that Wilder gave her reader. McCartney’s depiction of the Prairies reads beyond the lines of Wilder’s text in order to uncover the often disappointed (“Mary, Blinded After Scarlet Fever), restricted (“Pa’s Penis), and lonely (“Pa’s Fiddle Recalls the Nightingale”) elements that linger within the texts. McCartney gives her reader a varied and honest look at the Prairies that, as a result, reveals her breadth as a poet. For example, “Pa’s Rifle” and “Pa’s Ax” are two poems that are beautifully juxtaposed because the rifle fears the power that it holds within, while the ax adores it. Sharon McCartney’s newest collection The Love Song of Laura Ingalls Wilder is not only an imaginative take on Wilder’s “Little House” books, but is also a great demonstration of her talents as a poet.

JIVE Magazine Rating: 5 Pale Blue Bonnets out of 5.

About the Author: Sharon McCartney holds a MFA in poetry from Iowa Writers' Workshop and a law degree from the University of Victoria. She has published two other books, Under the Abdominal Wall (Anvil) and Karenin Sings the Blues (Goose Lane). She works as a legal editor in Fredericton, NB.

Websites to check out:
Nightwood Editions
Sharon McCartney