Curtis Crisler’s Tough Boy Sonatas is a riveting collection of poems that focus on the lives of the minority community of Gary, Indiana. Gary, Indiana was a city that once flourished from the steel industry, but is now plagued with violence, civil unrest, poverty and a broken educational system. Although the settings of the poems are in Gary Indiana, the themes of the poems are universal. The dark imagery and solemn wording creates the mood of the poems, and the powerful language in each poem makes the author’s voice prevalent throughout the book. The realities of hardship is evident in the lives of the people in Gary, with the author stating, “Confrontation is all up yo’ ass and in/ yo’ face at the same time” (24), in the poem “LaRoy”. Many of the poems illustrate terrifying violence and abuse, along with methods of survival, and a sense of hope.
The poem focuses on several social justice issues like poverty, racism, and white supremacy. Crisler emphasizes the effects of substance abuse and physical abuse that plagues a community in poems like "Mama" and "Grandma".Several of his poems focus on the act of fighting as a means of survival. Fighting is viewed as part of the cultural norms of the community. The boys in the community are forced to establish a male identity at a young age, and struggle to claim this mature, male identity.
The book is subdivided into three parts: Gary, Son of a City and Tough Boy Sonatas with the illustrations done by Floyd Cooper. The poems are indeed graphic, and the illustrations intensifies the voice behind the poem. The poem also uses the art of code-switching, alternating between a colloquial language and a more formal language. Curtis Crisler is an associate professor of English, and specializes in Poetry, Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary African American Poetry. Tough Boy Sonatas is his first major publication. Crisler grew up in Gary, Indiana, and his book is a reflection of several lived experiences.
The wording and direct themes of the poem awakens our social consciousness to several social justice issue. This book is a great addition to young adults literature and allows for great open in-depth discussion in the classroom and also in the home.
