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CSL
Connection interview with California's
Susan
Patron, who recently retired from the Los
Angeles Public Library where she served as a
senior children's librarian for collection
development, is the recipient of the prestigious
Newbery Award for her book The Higher Power of
Lucky. The Newbery Medal is awarded
annually to the author of the best written
children's book in the U. S. and it is
administered by the Association for Library
Service to Children, a division of the American
Library Association. The award was
recently presented at the annual conference of the
American Library Association in Washington D.C.
CSL
Connection interviewed Patron for inside
points-of-view from an award-winning librarian and
writer:
Tell
us a little about your background.
I
was born and grew up in Los Angeles.
As a child, I spent lots of time in LAPL
branches, and my first "real" job after
graduate school, in 1972, was as a children's
librarian at LAPL's Granada Hills branch. Eventually I promoted to become the
library's Juvenile Materials Collection
Development Manager, a position I held for over 25
years. I
retired in March 2007.
What
writing projects are you working on now?
I'm
working on a sequel to The Higher Power of
Lucky.
Also, I enter the New Yorker's joke caption
contest occasionally (but have never even been a
finalist).
What
one thing in your life has changed as a result of
winning the Newbery Award?
Now,
as I'm writing, flocks of critic-reviewer-crows
land on my shoulders, dig their talons into my
skin, and caw into my ears.
They were always there, but I could
dispatch them more easily before the award.
How
do you go about doing research for your books?
Two
examples: to
learn about knot tying and knot tyers (for the
character Lincoln in both Lucky and its sequel) I
joined the International Guild of Knot-Tyers,
attended their annual convention, received their
newsletters, and corresponded with members, who
gave me crucial advice.
I also checked out knot-tying books from
the library, but they made my eyes cross.
(It's a hard-won skill.)
A
few weeks ago, a wild burro walked into a chapter
of my current project, so I began research on
these interesting desert animals.
I discovered that many people are
passionate on the subject, and the Bureau of Land
Management runs an active burro adoption program.
I'm hoping to visit a ranch to meet some
adopted wild burros up close.
I guess what I do, in conducting research,
is to get as involved as possible on the topic.
Research is fun and seductive because it's
a "legitimate" way (as opposed to, say,
spending all day making Marcella Hazen's lasagna)
of avoiding the hard job of writing the book.
What
insights have you gained from the uproar earlier
this year over the use of the word “scrotum”
in The Higher Power of Lucky?
In
1993, I wrote a book for an even younger audience,
Maybe Yes, Maybe No, Maybe Maybe, in which I used
the word "uterus."
The book was an ALA Notable, a SLJ Best of
the Year, and generally well received.
No one ever raised the issue of that word
or worried about problems children might have
understanding it.
What's different with "scrotum"
in Lucky? Some
adults evidently feel that the Newbery should be
"safe," that is, a book that doesn't
reflect the world in which children live - a book
that doesn't raise questions.
Of course, this is precisely what
literature should do; it should be honest in the
deepest sense.
I'm grateful that so many librarians and
parents came forth in defense of intellectual
freedom and freedom of access for children;
grateful that our profession values and defends
the right of children to explore their own hearts
and the mysteries of the universe through fiction.
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