Out of the Dust Poverty Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Stanza)

Quote #10

Mr. Kingsbury's pictures of those Dionne babies / got them famous, / but it also got them taken from / their mother and father / and put on display / like a freak show, / like a tent full of two-headed calves. / Now I'm wondering / what will happen to us / after he finishes taking pictures of our dust. (87.2)

During the 1930s, many photographers came to the Dust Bowl to capture its devastation on the lives of local people. The Farm Security Administration wanted to comprehensively document their lives to create awareness about how bad the conditions really were. While these photographs are now valuable primary historical sources, it's easy to see how Billie Jo could imagine photography exploiting the Panhandle's people.