Jen Bryant (The Trial, Pieces of Georgia) has established herself as a critically acclaimed author of accessible free verse, and as she demonstrated with The Trial, she can make a historical event of national scope feel both immediate and intimate. In Ringside, 1925, Jen examines another trial--the controversial Scopes Evolution Trial--with the same grace, sensitivity, and meticulous research. Like her previous books, Ringside, 1925 is told in verse, but here, Jen uses multiple voices (from both sides of the debate) to bring to life an event of profound historical, scientific, and cultural significance. Jen is well-reviewed and an excellent, experienced self-promoter, and we plan to continue growing her at Knopf. This paperback edition of Ringside, 1925 is timed with Jen's new Kaleidoscope Eyes on the Knopf list.
The year is 1925, and the students of Dayton, Tennessee, are ready for a summer of fishing, swimming, some working, and drinking root beer floats at Robinson’s Drugstore. But when their science teacher, J. T. Scopes, is arrested for having taught Darwin’s theory of evolution in class, it seems it won’t be just any ordinary summer in Dayton.
As Scopes’ trial proceeds, the small town is faced with astonishing, nationwide publicity: reporters, lawyers, scientists, religious leaders, and tourists. But amidst the circus-like atmosphere is a threatening sense of tension–not only in the courtroom, but among even the strongest of friends. This compelling novel in poems chronicles a controversy with a profound impact on science and culture in America–and one that continues to this day.
