Jabari Asim, photo by Shef Reynolds |
Q: You
write that you first learned about John Lewis's preaching to his chickens from
his autobiography. At what point did you decide to write a children's book
about it?
A: Many
years had passed by the time I decided to try it. I’ve been wrestling with
various children’s projects that focus on the childhoods of important
African-American historical figures.
After
we found a publisher for Fifty Cents And A Dream (about young Booker T.
Washington), I began to work on Preaching in earnest.
Q: What
qualities did the young John Lewis depicted in your book have in common with
those of the John Lewis who went on to become a civil rights leader and
longtime member of Congress?
A: In
both his civil rights work and his work in Congress, Rep. Lewis has combined a
willingness to speak on behalf of the underserved and to engage his opponents
with compassion and civility.
At
the same, he has never hesitated to speak truth to power. One could argue (and
he has suggested) that some of his early childhood experiences helped shape the
man he became.
Q: At
what stage in the book's development did you see E.B. Lewis's illustrations,
and what do you think they add to the book?
A: They
_make_ the book, in my view. Our editor had done the principal editing on the
manuscript by the time I saw E.B.’s initial work. I was a longtime admirer of
his illustrations and looked forward to seeing what he would do.
His
art both interprets the text and complements it, with results that are both
poignant and dazzling. He has created a number of masterpieces, and I’m hopeful Preaching to the Chickens will join their ranks.
Q: Has
John Lewis seen the book, and what does he think of it?
A: To my knowledge he hasn’t seen it. I hope he will find it worthy.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I have a collection of poetry due out soon. It’s called Sing It Like A God. After that, I have a couple of children’s projects under contract that I need to get cracking on. I can’t say much about them until they are complete.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I have a collection of poetry due out soon. It’s called Sing It Like A God. After that, I have a couple of children’s projects under contract that I need to get cracking on. I can’t say much about them until they are complete.
Q: Anything
else we should know?
A: I’m
devoting more energy to writing plays while also working on my next novel. I’ve
finished a pair of scripts and will be looking for homes for both.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. For a previous Q&A with Jabari Asim, please click here.
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