Bashabi Fraser is the author of the new children's picture book A Card for My Mom. She has written and edited 25 books, and she is Professor Emerita of English and Creative Writing at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland.
Q: What inspired you to write A Card for My Mom?
A: As my daughter was growing up in Britain, I realised that she and her friends from ethnic minority families could not see images of their mothers around them in card/gift shops when they wanted to buy something for their mothers to show their love and appreciation.
I was aware of the anguish that my daughter and friends who were like her felt, who needed the familiar images of their mothers and their lives reflected in cards which would speak to their mothers and to them. This is what led me to write A Card for My Mum.
Q: What do you think Maanvi Kapur’s illustrations add to the story?
A: Maanvi Kapur's illustrations bring the daughter and mother's experiences alive with verve and sensitivity. They are vibrant, vivid, realistic, and beautiful. They convey the exuberance of life that the daughter experiences with her mother, reflecting the very images that moved me to write the story poem.
Q: The Kirkus Review called the book a “gentle Mother’s Day tale with a message of inclusion.” What do you think of that description?
A: The Kirkus Review's description is spot on, as I wanted my story poem to speak of the reality of diversity in British society. I hope my book speaks to the minority and mainstream population with a message of acceptance of the reality of British pluralism.
Q: You’ve written for adults and for children, in a variety of genres--do you have a preference?
A: I guess poetry remains my first love. It is what I first started writing as a 7 year old, and its rhythm and imagery come to me more readily than other genres.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I have a set of poems on play/games which I would to publish as illustrated books for children. The games are played both in the East and West, showing the universal nature of play amongst children.
I am also editing poems for my next poetry collection.
I want to get back to finishing a novel I started sometime ago.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I have a poem called “My Mum's Sari,” which has been published by BBC Bitesize as an illustrated book for children with an accompanying video. The book is recommended reading for schools in England, Wales, and Scotland.
However, it does not have an ISBN number, so it cannot be bought by readers; in fact, I have not been able to obtain copies of the book after writing to the BBC agent who contacted me for my permission to publish it for schools in Britain, but have not had any response.
It works beautifully as a companion piece with A Card for My Mum. I would love to have a saleable copy of “My Mum's Sari” with illustrations by Maanvi, published by Lantana and made available to young readers across Britain.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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