Requiem: Poems of the Terezín Ghetto (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Requiem: Poems of the Terezín Ghetto Deborah Stevenson, Editor Janeczko, Paul B. Requiem: Poems of the Terezín Ghetto. Candlewick, 2011. [112p]. ISBN 978-0-7636-4727-8 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 6–9. Operating both as a transport point and a ghetto for Jews under the Third Reich, the Czech camp Terezín is perhaps most infamous for the propaganda-friendly artistic freedoms that allowed its residents to make music and stage plays—until they were relocated to death camps. Janeczko reflects on Terezín through thirty-five compact free-verse poems, most written in the voice of named (and numbered) inhabitants and guards, almost all fictional, of the camp. Verses testify to the grief of watching a friend die or a loved one depart on a train to certain doom; they describe the torment of bedbugs or the deliberate torturing of inmates; they explore the strange paradox of music and art that give only an ironic illusion of freedom. The poems don’t provide as much specific information about Terezín in particular as a reader might wish, but the verses are spare and accessible, filled with crushing historical weight; the first-person approach will make the entries particularly compelling as readers theater or readalouds. This could also help expand a Holocaust curriculum, especially if used as an accompaniment to Thomson’s excellent Terezín: Voices from the Holocaust (BCCB 2/11) or the classic collection I Never Saw Another Butterfly in a deeper exploration of Terezín. End matter includes a brief description of the camp’s history, a note on the poet’s research, and a list of sources in book, web, and DVD format (a glossary will be included in the bound book); final illustrations were not seen. Copyright © 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois