One Last Shot
The “last shot” of Kip Wilson’s title refers not to a gun but to a camera—though in this context a gun might be equally appropriate. This excellent, innovative young adult novel-in-verse tells the poignant true story of Gerda Pohorylle, a pioneering photojournalist and war correspondent during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).
The daughter of Polish Jewish immigrants settled in Germany, vibrant young Gerda became an anti-Hitler activist in the late 1920s and was forced to flee to safety in Paris. There she became involved in the Bohemian world of Parisian art and journalism, where in 1934 she met and fell in love with a Hungarian photographer named André Friedmann, another Jewish refugee.
By 1937 the couple had both become successful war photographers who published their pictures under the bylines of “Robert Capa” and “Gerda Taro.” Their story of art, love, separation, and reunion somewhat recalls the tragic plot of La Bohème. It is difficult for one genre to fully describe another, but Wilson’s verse technique is surprisingly effective and readable, especially when Gerda describes her emotions and her risky work:
I turn …
and focus on their faces
and click, click, click
capture their dread
and hope on film.
Wilson’s short, irregular lines of verse add to the sense of suspense and impending doom that darkens the novel. Part of this is political—the war in Spain foreshadowed World War II—and part is personal. Robert Capa went on to achieve great fame as a war photographer, but just as her own career was blossoming, Gerda was killed on a Spanish battlefield in 1937.
