Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime and start saving today with fast, free delivery

Hardcover
$25.79

$25.79

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

FREE delivery Wednesday, May 15 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or fastest delivery Friday, May 10. Order within 19 hrs 56 mins

Select delivery location

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

$$25.79 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from

Amazon

Ships from

Amazon

Sold by

USbookStore

Sold by

USbookStore

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.

Read full return policy

Payment

Secure transaction

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Details

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

$8.62

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

FREE delivery Wednesday, May 15 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or fastest delivery Friday, May 10. Order within 19 hrs 56 mins

Select delivery location

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

$$25.79 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Details

${cardName} not available for the seller you chose

${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}.

Sold by Martistore and Fulfilled by Amazon.

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (34) from $1.36 + $3.98 shipping

Follow the author

Walker Evans

+ Follow

More books from this author

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

Something Permanent Hardcover – May 13, 1994

by Cynthia Rylant (Author), Walker Evans (Photographer)

4.8 16 ratings

See all formats and editions

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$25.79","priceAmount":25.79,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"25","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"79","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"td6vu%2BS6M3CMV1vLfCNgQdu5mE1nTRkyw6WHSuy1FNlBZ2ApVLa9e5p1XuMbsakTz0Xr8JXWBbRnxsJ9RFLW%2B4epdLq1hG1udVrpZHUsvDqwYeBnrJ%2FfgZG2%2FODuNmnf%2BTShI2Y%2F1WGByQdx5SUfJgk9AmhQ8QTAZUlP19K6egp%2FXQcwOWVbLGhH5EwhIRym","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$8.62","priceAmount":8.62,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"8","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"62","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"td6vu%2BS6M3CMV1vLfCNgQdu5mE1nTRkyQ24uEUjXLWHzxvwoFjEZzEy2RFXLbM4GpxW8DdK5rypyCaE810HOM86cUG91fGVjJggIcDhgP0P1TcIYs%2BtsyftUH6nLNjHfSs6KvzWp0fqgS%2B6Ljcuuqlk6C5TOjEARt9tKYgkxbBzdnP2K2KAxj5dmERPq03pn","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

The photographs of Walker Evans tell stories of ordinary people living in America in the extraordinary time of the Great Depression. Cynthia Rylant’s poetry about the photographs offers a new voice in the telling, celebrating the beauty of life lived in extreme circumstances.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As in Rylant's Soda Jerk , the subjects of this extraordinary and elegantly designed volume are ordinary moments in the lives of ordinary people. Rylant, responding to Evans's famous photographs of America during the Great Depression, pens spare, gem-like poems that tell stories--of a couple hitching a ride to the city, of a barber proud of his shop. Almost devoid of obviously figurative language, the poems are an expressive complement to the poignant images in Evans's ( Let Us Now Praise Famous Men ) stark photographs. Even when the camera focuses on an inanimate object, the poems hone in on the human heart. A photograph of a crooked mantel inspires a description of a woman who "knew about beauty and understood it." A picture of two empty iron beds speak to Rylant of a couple who "would turn toward each other, and, / nestled in the warm breathing / of their other babies, / ease their weary minds / with the sex / they knew would likely make them / poorer / and / richer / all the same time." For the most part, the text deals with experiences and attitudes beyond the understanding of those at the younger end of the target audience, but older readers will respond to the book's eloquent and haunting images of loss, hope and love. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-Nearly 60 years ago, Walker Evans and James Agee documented the lives of poor Southern sharecroppers. Their efforts resulted in a devastating, legendary account of the Depression, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Here, Rylant pairs Evans's photographs with 29 short, lyrical poems. Almost of necessity, her subject matter concerns survival. "House," "Bed," "Rocker," "Utensils," and "Grave" evoke an existence stripped of all but the essential. The poet shows how seemingly inconsequential things-a window box filled with plants, a few prized possessions displayed on a mantel-can spell the difference between hope and despair. Sly humor surfaces as well. Rylant's spare, conversational style matches the spirit of the pictures; her respect for the people whose way of life Evans has captured shines through. Powerful as the words are, the photographs steal the show. They pull viewers back again and again, deepening current notions of pride and endurance. Beautifully designed, the volume is printed on high-quality glossy paper. Each black-and-white, full-page photo is faced by a strategically positioned poem on the opposite page; silver endpapers add a luxuriant touch. Not a comfortable book, Something Permanent will delight and disturb readers.
Ellen D. Warwick, Winchester Public Library, MA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-12 Here's a book concept that seems to have Bad Idea written all over it: repackage Walker Evans' photos for the juvenile market. Take a few of Evans' images of southern life during the Depression, tie them to a little poignant poetry by a big-name children's writer (How about Cynthia Rylant? She's from Appalachia, after all), and, presto, you've got Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, kid version.

Sometimes, though, the material is strong enough, and the artists talented enough, to transcend the concept. Evans' photos resist all attempts at pigeonholing. The objects he capturesa slightly sagging bed, several birdhouses, the facade of a filling station, a rocking chairpossess such physical presence, such irreducible reality, that they achieve their own dignity, beyond message. That is not to say, however, that they don't also have their own kind of resonance, suggesting the scope of the human lives lived around them. Here is where Rylant enters the picturefleshing out the intimations offered by the pictures themselves, never reducing the image to a single meaning but always widening the angle of our vision to include more, to see further. And, best of all, the angles Rylant chooses to widen are rarely the ones we expect. Her poem about the sagging bed, for example (see jacket illustration, opposite) begins, Of course it was hard to make love / with the children in the room. What follows is a tenderly erotic lyric about a couple who ease their weary minds / with sex, which makes them poorer / and richer / at the same time.

The literary critic Lionel Trilling argued that James Agee's text in Famous Men suffered from a failure of moral realism, an inability to see the people in Evans' photos as anything but emblems of a sure and simple virtue. Rylant makes no such mistake. The people she finds both in and behind Evans' images are strong and courageous, yes, but they are also weak, petty, and frustrated. The land can be a source of beauty for them, but, more often, it brings only pain: the earth never was nothing / but work.

For students in junior high and high school, the juxtaposition of Evans' photos and Rylant's poems will demonstrate how emotions can be rooted in objects and how, to dig them out, you need to use strong, sturdy words. Bill Ott

About the Author

Cynthia Rylant is a Newbery medalist and the author of many acclaimed books for young people. She's well known for her popular characters for early readers, including Mr. Putter & Tabby and Henry & Mudge. She lives in the Pacific Northwest. www.cynthiarylant.com.

WALKER EVANS (1903-1975) is best known for his striking Depression-era photographs. He served as an editor for both Fortune and Time and was a professor of graphic arts at Yale. His other books include American Photographs and Message from the Interior.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ HMH Books for Young Readers; First Edition (May 13, 1994)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 64 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0152770909
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0152770907
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 years and up
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 9 and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 0.5 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,355,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #71 in Teen & Young Adult Photography

Customer Reviews:
4.8 16 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Walker Evans

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5

16 global ratings

3 star

0%

2 star

0%

1 star

0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Marianne

Stark Photographs and Luminous Little Poems

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2007

Verified Purchase

Cynthia Rylant has done the un-doable. She's written simple, beautiful, stark little amazing poems describing simple, beautiful, stark black and white photographs taken during the great Depression. Whoever said a picture is worth a thousand words, didn't know Ms. Rylant. For instance, next to a photograph of a very tall tree limb stuck in the ground with several gourd bird houses hanging haphazardly from it is this poem:

Birdhouses

People said they were

a good excuse

for looking up.

That's the shortest poem in the book, but it's perfect for the photo. As soon as I read the last poem, I wanted to order copies of this book for every poetry-loving friend I have and scream, "STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND READ THIS RIGHT NOW!"

Life is too, too short NOT to read poetry. It's life affirming, inspiring and uplifting. If only for a moment, it takes us outside of our selves and gives us a glimpse of pure Spirit. I've always believed that God can be found in the blank spaces between the words and this book of photos and poems only proves my theory. In the beginning was the word and the word was God. He's there in the words and the spaces. Buy this book and read it over and over and definitely give it to your friends and family. Even is you don't care for poetry, the photographs will speak to your heart and feed your spirit.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Harrison Holmes

Entanglement of art

Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2018

Verified Purchase

Bought for Walker Evans’s exceptional eye and Rylant’s relevant poetry. Two artists whose work becomes entangled almost as one in this small volume.

Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2018

Verified Purchase

Poems paired with black and white photos form a beautiful combination that tugs at your heart. Buy this collection. You will not be disappointed.

Helpful

Phyllis J. Moore

Touching and Permanent

Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2013

Verified Purchase

This is the kind of book you keep. Reading it is truly an emotional experience.

Rylant's fresh words are in harmony with the well known photographs.

Well done Cynthia Rylant. Well done Walker Evans.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

G. Bard

A perfect reader.

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2010

Verified Purchase

Just a quiet, beautiful read, lovely photography by a master and words that will bring a tear to your eye.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Cindy H

Beautifully Touching

Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2018

I came across this book in a gift shop as a teenager while on vacation with my parents. I don't remember where. I'm not sure why, but it caught my eye and I asked for it. I've had it over 20 years now, and it still touches my heart every time I even think about it. It's one of the few books I've carefully moved from one house to another over the years. I now share it with my kids each time we study the Depression in our homeschool. I think there's no better way to immerse yourself in the emotion and heartache of that era.

My favorite is the one about the husband and wife who become "a little richer and a little poorer" at the same time.

Helpful

Return this item for free

Return this item for free

Follow the author

Image Unavailable