Deep Down in the Delta: Folktales and Poems

by Greg Alan Brownderville, Billy Moore (Illustrator)

In Deep Down in the Delta, a book like no other, tales and poems by award-winning writer Greg Alan Brownderville are paired with paintings by "outsider" artist Billy Moore to evoke the Arkansas Delta in unforgettable fashion. One of the most soulful, most mysterious regions in America comes to life in words and pictures. Reminiscent of Jean Toomer's Cane and Alice Rae Yelen's Passionate Visions of the American South, this book leads the reader into strange country where a buzzard the size of an airplane circles over buried Confederate treasure; an indestructible rabbit haunts a graveyard; a pool table dances across a juke joint; and a hoodoo woman treats a girl who flies around the house like a balloon losing air. The poems are folkloristic, the tales poetic, and the paintings downright beautiful.

96 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2012

Reviews

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciated the added art to this edition. The folktales and poems were nostalgic for someone who is familiar with the area/culture/people. Some of the stories might have benefitted from some contextualization, perhaps, or some opportunity to linger. For instance, the author mentions in the preface that he mixed and matched legends, rather than recording things verbatim from their sources. It might have been interesting to get the different sources, almost like a slow exploration of the stories told by different people in different ways.