Library of Michigan exhibit spotlights global stories of trauma

Author Anne-Marie Oomen and Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Taro Yamasaki have resurrected the art of pairing poetry and images for the dramatic Library of Michigan exhibit “Innocents in Peril,” featuring 22 of Yamasaki’s photographs of children from around the world who experienced traumatic events such as war, famine and disease.

The partnership between poet and artist came to be by chance at a patio party during the pandemic, when the two, while keeping a safe distance, began discussing the idea of a joint exhibition. Oomen and Yamasaki live in Leelanau County, where creatives stand shoulder to shoulder at bars, coffee shops and bookstores.

The exhibit opens with a public reception at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 22, in the Library of Michigan’s Lake Erie Room.

Although the exhibit stands on its own, both Yamasaki and Oomen are hoping it leads to a book contract that combines his stunning photographs with her touching poetry.

Oomen is an accomplished writer, having authored numerous novels and memoirs. Several of her works have won Michigan Notable Book awards, including “Love, Sex, and 4-H” and “The Lake Michigan Mermaid.”  In 2023, she received the Michigan Author Award for lifetime achievement.

While powerful on their own, when paired with poetry, Yamasaki’s photographs gain a totally new depth. The photographs are mostly in color and typically depict one child looking directly at the lens with soulful eyes, asking the viewer to consider, “How could this happen?”

Photos by Taro Yamasaki The Library of Michigan exhibit “Innocents in Peril” pairs poetry by author Anne-Marie Oomen with photographs by Taro Yamasaki, known for his haunting images of innocents ravaged by traumatic events such as war, disease and famine. Pictured above are images he shot of children at a Hutu refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

To print the photographs, Yamasaki and the Library of Michigan turned to local printer Jamie Atkins, who has made a career of reproducing fine art. He clearly understands how proper light and framing can add to a photograph’s essence.

In a telephone interview from his home, Yamasaki reflected on his life as a documentary photographer.

“I didn’t start getting paid until I was 32,” he said. However, once he began clicking the shutter, he did so passionately.

Yamasaki’s career blossomed in 1977, when he went to work at the Detroit Free Press alongside the Pulitzer-winning photographers Tony Spina and David Turnley.

In 1980, Yamasaki talked his way into Jackson Prison, where he spent seven days photographing inmates. Numerous times, he was given free rein of the world’s largest walled prison, with no guards accompanying him. He was able to gain the trust of the inmates, and the result was a feature in the Free Press that earned him a Pulitzer.

He became a highly sought-after freelance photographer for Time, People, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and other major magazines. His skills took him to  hotspots, including Nicaragua, Romania, Bosnia, Rwanda, Israel and Palestine.

His focus became singular: recording mass trauma, especially how it impacted children.

“Having my own children affected the ways I photographed and reacted to children,” he said.

He said he never feared for his life while shooting in some of the most dangerous environments, though he probably should have. He noted that photography has always been a vehicle for truth and “letting the public know what is really happening.”

He pointed to some of the dramatic photographs taken during the Vietnam War that changed how the world thought about the war.

“Those photographs convinced me photography was a worthwhile profession,” he said.

The Library of Congress has acquired several photographs that Yamasaki shot of the late Ryan White, a teenage AIDS victim, in 1987 and 1988, which led to a 1990 federal law funding treatment and care for individuals with HIV and AIDS.

One of those photographs is shown in the Library of Michigan exhibit.

Oomen said the project was a true collaboration, and as the two of them zeroed in on the selection of photographs, it became an alliance between “the consciousness of the manuscript and the statement he could make in his photographs.”

“That patio moment turned into something meaningful,” she said.