Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman is a collection of poems on creatures that rule the night. This collection of poems contains not only nocturnal staple animals as topics but things that can occur with other natural subjects such as trees and mushrooms. Each poem is accompanied by factual information afterward that expands the imagery of the poetry with an understanding of how this happens naturally with the subject.
Sidman changes her style of writing with each poem sometimes rhyming and sometimes using free verse. Every poem is heavy with imagery that creates feeling for the senses. For example in Oak after Dark, we learn that even the trees are busy in the night. Sidman personifies the oak tree giving us the image of a mother almost who is finishing up her tasks while young ones move around her feet:
As nighttime rustles at my knee,
I stand in silent gravity
and quietly continue chores
of feeding leaves and sealing pores.
The illustrations by Rick Allen were created using linoleum prints and gouache. The use of heavy dark lines and color reflect vision in the darkened forest. The images and colors lend to a magical darkness that corresponds with the fantastic sensory pictures being created by the poet. The author creates a mystery and magic by sharing interactions of the animals with its environment. This is an interesting dichotomy when paired with the factual information that follows to demystify creatures of the dark.
Joyce Sidman's poems introduce to the hidden things that move at night we fear. Her collection of poems works to engage the reader through the senses while illuminating the backgrounds of the animals that come out at night in the forest. It has the potential to serve as an interesting potential for science and creative writing combined.
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