Q:
Why did you decide to write about saxophonist Sonny Rollins in your new picture
book?
A:
I’ve known his name, and knew his story from growing up. And was always
fascinated by the image of a sax player practicing on a bridge! Then, more
recently, there’s an effort to rename the Williamsburg Bridge in his honor. So,
Sonny Rollins has always floated in my brain somewhere.
Sonny’s
story touches on so many universal themes that kids relate to in their own
lives. Believing in themselves, making difficult decisions, working hard to
achieve a goal, and on and on. I’m always looking to develop stories that would
work well for a kidlit audience. Plus, and it was a plus, his story has never
appeared in children’s lit. And, he’s
still alive!
Q:
How did you try to get the feeling of jazz into your text?
A:
I am a huge fan of the Beatnik poetry of the 1950s. It’s the pre-Hippie era. Reading
Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s Coney Island of the Mind opened my mind to free verse. I
also wrote, performed, and studied poetry in college. I listened to Sonny’s
music and read many articles about him. Research, I love research. So….I kinda
imagined being back in 1959 and improvised. As I did different versions and
then edits, I continued to shape the language.
Q.
What do you think Keith Mallett's illustrations add to the book?
A:
Well, he is phenomenal! He is an artist, and his illustrations are art. To
state the obvious, his work made my words better! Genuinely a jaw-dropping
moment when I saw what he had done. Charlesbridge picked The. Perfect.
Collaborator. for Sonny’s Bridge.
Q:
You also have a new book coming out
about Martin Luther King Jr. What can you tell us about that book?
A:
A Place to Land is about how Dr. King wrote his “I Have a Dream” speech. It comes out in August, published by Neal
Porter Books. Legendary illustrator and Caldecott winner Jerry Pinkney did the
artwork. And it is incredible. No surprise there!
I
had heard that there’s approximately 100 children’s books about Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. I always told myself that if I were to write a book about Dr.
King, it would have to have a unique angle. That probably sounds obvious, since
a book without a unique angle would never be published. But I never actively
sought that unique angle. I figured there was no need for my take on MLK.
Then,
as I am wont to do, I read on the internet about a book his attorney, Clarence
Jones, had written. It focused on how the iconic speech came to be. I had never
heard the story. Did I just miss it? Then I researched some more. There were a
few, but not much written about this storyline. And I then I researched if any
children’s lit book talked about the mechanics of the speech. Again, nothing.
I
knew I was interested in how the speech came to be, and I guessed it would
appeal to kids who – like most of us – dread rewriting. That the “I Have a
Dream” speech didn’t just appear in Dr. King’s hand that day as he stood on the
podium, addressing the country and the world. The story is a series of
twists and turns and a touch of kismet.
Q:
What are you working on now?
A:
SHHHH… I can’t reveal specifics, but I have about 10 narrative nonfiction ideas
in various stages of writing in my head and on paper. They include an old
painter, an invention, a chef, an Olympic athlete, an iconic reporter, a train,
a library, baseball…then there’s a few fiction things that are begging to be
written. Lack of ideas is never the problem with me. Good ideas? Yes, hard to
find. Ability to implement those ideas? Definitely a struggle.
Q:
Anything else we should know?
A:
Besides, I would like to see a dessert menu?
I
have a fiction book out in 2020 called Oscar’s American Dream, published by
Anne Schwartz. It is the story of a small corner store's evolution over 100
years, and how its different occupants reflect the changing face of America. It
is being illustrated by Kevin Howdeshell and Kristen Howdeshell.
After
that comes out, I’m retiring and going to mime school. I figured I will have
said all I need to say, and it will then be time to zip it.
Nah.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Barry Wittenstein.
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