"The image that Jane Rule's book both begins and ends on is
haunting precisely because it captures the past that's always
lurking within the Delta's present. There is something surreal,
almost Kafkaesque on display here. A farmer with his back to us
drives a tractor straight ahead on a lonely dirt road. Big woods
loom on the left. On the right, at the edge of a field of cotton, a
grey-clad horseman moves in the opposite direction, a ghost
returning to history."--Steve Yarbrough, from the introduction
The Mississippi Delta evokes mystery, beauty, and hardship in
equal measures. Its haunted fields, turbulent history, and
resilient people have fueled countless songs, tales, and literary
works, and its presence resonates strongly in the construction of
the American South.
In "Delta Deep Down," photographer Jane Rule Burdine captures
the region with clarity and warmth. Since the early 1970s, Burdine
has used the Delta as her muse, traversing and documenting the
ever-changing landscape in color photographs. These powerful images
reflect how the Delta and its citizens have responded to each
other, and how each has in turn been changed. Weatherbeaten shacks,
cotton and soybean fields, industrial equipment, people at work and
play, and cloud-draped, endless horizons are all seen through
Burdine's lens. The Delta's past and present mingle in every
photograph of the inhabitants--black and white, young and old, rich
and poor--in moments of contemplation, hard work, and joyous
revelry.
Novelist and Indianola native Steve Yarbrough offers a touching,
personal introduction that explores how Burdine's photographs
reveal the place he once called home, and how, through her
photographs, the hold this fertile ground claims on his heart is
reinforced. "Delta Deep Down" offers an unforgettable portrait of a
quintessential Mississippi place and the people who abide in
it.
Wendy McDaris provides historical context and locates Burdine's
work among current trends in fine art photography.
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