Literary Safari

I’m a huge fan of the StoryCorps Project, and try to catch the weekly “episodes” on All Things Considered on Friday mornings. A few weeks ago, not even knowing that this book was coming out, I combed through the web archives looking for stories that captured American voices (for a project I was working on). I ended up emailing a bunch of my favorites to K. and my mom – pieces that evoked the immigrant experience in memorable ways.

So, of course, I was thrilled when I came across Listening Is an Act of Love, a “celebration of American Life from the StoryCorps Project.”

The Story

Edited and with an introduction by the award winning radio documentary producer and founder of StoryCorps, Dave Isay, this anthology collects 49 stories from the 10,000 interviews that have been conducted through this national oral history project. The interviews are organized by the most popular themes that Isay’s team has collected since 2003: Home and Family; Work and Dedication; Journeys; History and Struggle; and Fire and Water (i.e. 9/11).

My Take

I started reading these stories on my way home from work last night. Despite the din of the evening commute and the whoosh of the passing subways, I could hear the voices and the conversations, I could make out the intonations and the dialects, the accents and the silences of the participants. I was profoundly moved.

In his introduction, Dave Isay writes about the roots of the project – his wish to emulate the 1930s/40s New Deal’s Federal Writer’s Project where writers including Zora Neale Hurston drove across the country “lugging enormous acetate disk recorders in the trunks of their cars, to capture the stories and songs of everyday people.” Hearing these voices transported me back in time in a way that no photograph, movie, or book ever had,” Isay writes. “They struck me as historic artifacts beyond value.” And, so he set out to replicate this experience — to capture the voices of America today.

“I hoped to create a project that was all about the act of interviewing loved ones, with only a secondary emphasis on the final edited product — in essence inverting the purpose of traditional documentary work from an … educational project created for the benefit of an audience to a process principally focuses on enhancing the lives of the participants,” Isay tells us. Indeed, all recordings at the Grand Central Booths and at the traveling booths become part of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

This is a philosophy that he has adhered to. It has, after all, taken it almost five years for these pieces to make it into print – and that’s surprising, given the popularity of the project. As I was reading the various interviews, it was clear to me how significantly such an interview could impact a relationship or an individual. Talking helps. Sharing one’s story, as Isay put it, allows people to realize “I exist!”

My only criticism of the book is that it’s not made for subway reading. If you’re like me, you’ll end up in tears and want to turn to the person next to you and ask: What’s your story?

Connections

For more about Dave Isay’s work, check out Ghetto Life 101, his seminal radio 1993 documentary which looked at the world of children growing up in Chicago public housing.

It’s almost Halloween, and your celebration will not be complete if you don’t listen to this StoryCorps interview between Juliet Jegasothy, who is originally from Sri Lanka,and her friend Sheena Jacob. You’ll never look at trick or treating the same way again!

You might enjoy reading Listening Is an Act of Love alongside the following books:

I Thought My Father Was God, edited by Paul Auster. This is a collection of true American stories from the National Story Project, which invited Americans to submit written anecdotes about their lives. It’s riveting.

This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women, edited by Jay Allison. These are 500 word essays that are part of the weekly broadcast series, inspired by the 1950s program started by Ed Morrow.

Put them together, and you have the makings of a phenomenal oral history curriculum which looks at the patchwork quilt of America.

The 411

Listening Is an Act of Love
Edited by Dave Isay
The Penguin Press
$ 24.95
ISBN: 1594201404
Hits bookstores: November 8, 2007

Good times = good food.

I couldn’t have described my purple meal at Cendrillon, a Filipino restaurant in Soho, any better than Trader Janki. Read it and drool. Seriously.

And, I was at Popover Cafe for one of these last night. A steaming popover with strawberry butter. Need I say more?

BOO!! Halloween is less than a week away. Just in time, we have a healthy helping of spooky and spritely things, candy scenes, and of course, a little bit of Edgar Allan Poe.

The Simple and the Ordinary served up “The Raven.” Sylvia, an original poem “Chocolate Covered Ants” by J. Pat Lewis in honor of National Chocolate Day, autumn, and Halloween!

“By the pricking of the thumbs, something wicked this way comes.” Kelly Fineman has a great scene from Shakespeare’s Macbeth with the witches.

You must check out the awesome ghost tree at The Cole Mine, and the original cinquain inspired by it. There’s more Shakespeare here too (“The Three Witches”).

I loved Aileen Fisher’s “The Witch in the Wintry Wood,” courtesy of Becky at Farm School. It’s from a 1936 anthology of Halloween writings.

Crooked House has Michael Rosen’s spooky poem “The Hidebehind.” Rosen is currently the Children’s Laureate in the U.K. She also shares his great ideas for advancing the state of children’s poetry.

Alyssa at The Shady Glade has Halloween song lyrics “Grim, Grinning Ghosts.” She invites us to guess which group they’re from. Anyone, anyone?

Rebecca of Ipsa Dixit offers up “The Utter Zoo Alphabet” by Edward Gorey. Read it side-by-side with “Jabberwocky” at Rosepixie.

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast has Kenn Nesbitt monster poetry that I guarantee you’ll want to read out loud. (and that made me want to look at my copy of Maurice Sendak’s Mommy!)

Mary Lee (Two Teachers Who Read. A Lot.) has a review of Eve Merriam’s Halloween ABC.

At Susan Writes, read a delightful William Allingham poem about fairies who “live on crispy pancakes of yellow tide-foam. It’ll make you want to flit about!

Calendar Connections

It’s Rudyard Kipling’s 343^rd birthday this weekend (Oct. 28). RM1(SS) (ret) gives us one of Kipling’s poems “Soldier and Sailor Too.” And, Charlotte has “Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo,” from Just So Stories.

Michele has some Shakespeare (Henry V), in honor of St Crispin’s Day, yesterday. So does Miss Erin.

Fall is on our minds.

Tricia (Miss Rumphius) was inspired by the leaves that are falling around her, and shared “Gathering Leaves,” as well as a reading list of books about fall.

Suzanne is feeling sad as the leaves are flying. She shared “Leaves” by Elise Brady. (more…)

Update (late Friday) : The roundup is on its way. I’m compiling all the gems!

It’s my honor to be hosting Poetry Friday for the first time. Welcome to Literary Safari. I haven’t been as regular about participating as I would like, BUT I have noticed that I’ve actually started paying much more attention to verse in my everyday life. Most days, I feel like I’m walking around with a poem in my pocket!

I’m baking blueberry muffins on this rainy Friday in New York, and the cold apartment smells so sweet and yummy. So, my poem for the day is “Blueberries,” by Robert Frost:

“You ought to have seen what I saw on my way
To the village, through Mortenson’s pasture to-day:
Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb,
Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum
In the cavernous pail of the first one to come!
And all ripe together, not some of them green
And some of them ripe! You ought to have seen!”

It’s a long and funny poem in dialogue that begged me to read it out aloud – which is a nice way to start a day, actually. You can read it in its entirety here.

Now, down to business. Please use Mister Linky to submit your poem/url so that I can successfully execute my Poetry Friday roundup duties at the end of the day.

(more…)

The science adventure novel for kids, George’s Secret Key to the Universe, by physicist Stephen Hawking and his daughter Lucy Hawking, was published this week. Following is my Q & A with Lucy Hawking. You can also catch my review of the book here.

Q: How did the idea to write a children’s book with your father come about?

I had the idea for the book – which right from the beginning I called George’s Secret Key to the Universe – because I wanted to write a book with my Dad which would explain some of the work he’s done to younger readers. I have a background in creative writing and he, obviously, has led a wonderful career in theoretical physics, so I felt together, we could come up with a great adventure story where the adventures would be based on real science.

Tell me about the collaboration process.

I came up with the concept, the title, created the characters and the set up and designed the plot line. I then consulted with my father who worked with [a former research PhD student] Christophe Galfard, as to the science he wanted to include. I wove the science into the story line and added some background themes of my own such a global warming, the moral value of science and the need for humanity to spread out into space to survive.

Is the character of George based on anyone in particular?

George has elements of my older brother – very sweet, very serious and very clever. My older brother used to go to lectures with my Dad – ones for professional researchers – and sit in the front row. I have this image of him as a boy, looking very earnest and listening very carefully. When George attends Eric’s conference and asks a question, that moment is entirely based on my older brother as a boy.

I found myself smiling at descriptions of the opposing descriptions of gigantic SUVs that George saw on the road versus the lentil cakes and broccoli muffins he ate in a home where there were no computers. Both were so on point even though they can be construed as stereotypes. It seemed to me that these were depictions of people who camp out at different ends of the environmentalism activism scale. Are both of these worlds that you and your father think about often?

I’m glad you liked those parts. These are not our worlds – we are not extremists in any way. I drew them from observations of life around us.

There was a clear environmental message in this book. Do you and your father feel that the time is ripe for it to be heard now, especially among children?

I feel very strongly that is extremely important for everyone to listen to the warnings about the health of our planet. I read a really good phrase the other day from the astronomer Fred Watson who says ‘we call it Planet Earth and we treat it like dirt’. Of course, with children who are tomorrow’s world and who will grow up to make decisions that could affect the survival of the human race, it is doubly important to stress this idea that we need to act with greater care and regard to the amazing planet on which we live. My father has spoken many times on this subject. He likes to point out how inhospitable somewhere like Venus – extreme temperatures, acidic clouds – would be and how we could be heading in that direction.

You obviously grew up in a scientific household. In the book, little George does not. His exposure to the discipline of science in school is also very different – let’s say distant. I’d love to know: What was your relationship with science during your childhood? Was there a significant difference in how you saw it presented at home and in school?

Science was all around me as a child. However, my interests lay in different areas – in theatre, ballet, music, singing and creative writing. Even as a small child, I was creating fantasy worlds. I used to write about them, draw maps of them and fill them with strange creatures, stories and legends. So I was really the family entertainer.

Your father’s theories on Black Holes were so simply laid out for a child. I’m curious – did he explain his theories to you in this way when you were a child?

Yes, he has always enjoyed explaining complicated subjects in simple ways. He used to help us with our homework when we were kids and I always loved the ways he found to illustrate and illuminate complex ideas

I was interested in how you included charts and text features alongside the fictional narrative. Is it your hope that this book might be used in science classrooms?

We included the extra scientific information because this helps the book to be more flexible. It gives readers options – they can read the story without taking in any extra science or they can use the boxes for additional material. I also felt these boxes would be very handy for parents as they would help the parents to answer any further questions their children might have.

What were your favorite children’s books?

I loved the classics of children’s fiction, especially the C S Lewis [Narnia] series. I also very much liked the books of E Nesbit – 5 children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet, the The Story of the Amulet. I read voraciously as a child and used to pillage my parents book shelves for old dusty Penguin paperbacks. So I read eclectically and somewhat oddly – Wuthering Heights followed by Enid Blyton.

Me too! I haven’t thought about The Phoenix and the Carpet in years! The illustrations of George reminded me of The Little Prince. There was something contemporary and yet fantasy and fairy tale like about his character.

The illustrations are beautiful. They are the work of Garry Parsons and I was so touched when he sent me his first sketches. They depicted the characters exactly as I saw them in my mind.

You are a journalist who has written for publications including New York magazine, the London Evening Standard, and London’s Daily Mail. How was writing for children different than the other writing/journalism that you do?

Writing for children allowed me to use the part of my imagination that I developed as a child – it allowed me to create my own fantasy worlds, much as I had been doing since a very early age. I really enjoyed it. I liked the clarity but the freedom of writing for children.

I understand that there are two more books in this series. Are you working on them already and when might we expect them to hit the shelves?

I am working hard on the second book and we hope to bring it out in ’08. Thank you!

Update: Read my Q & A with author Lucy Hawking here.  You can also catch her on the Tavis Smiley show tonight. Visit PBS for local showtimes.

Who says you can’t explain theoretical physics to kids? Certainly not Stephen and Lucy Hawking, the authors of the children’s adventure novel George’s Secret Key to the Universe, which hit bookstores this week.

The Story

George has a big problem. What he really wants—above all things—is a computer. But, his parents won’t have it. They are vegetarian, environmentalist, gardening, granola-crunching types (his mother bakes muffins with Brussel Sprouts and turnips) who disapprove of “modern inventions.”

When he wanders into the overgrown and off limits “Next Door” backyard with his pig Freddie, George discovers Annie, a precarious girl dressed like a ballerina, her scientist father Eric, and their supercomputer Cosmos.

Cosmos is, as George discovers the “most powerful computer in the world,” capable of breaking the barriers between earth and space … and of allowing George and his new friends to travel into and unravel the mysteries of the universe! But first, George must take the oath of the Order of Scientific Inquiry for the Good of Humanity:

“I swear to use my scientific knowledge for the good of Humanity. I promise never to harm any person in search of enlightenment. I shall be courageous and careful in my quest for greater knowledge about the mysteries that surround us. I shall not use scientific knowledge for my own personal gain or give it to those who seek to destroy the wonderful planet on which we live. If I break my oath, may the beauty and wonder of the Universe forever remain hidden from me.”

Having taken this oath, George begins the incredible journey of discovering the infinite secrets of the universe—stars, comets, the planets, matter, the solar system, and so much more.

If you think I’m giving away the “happily ever after ending,” you’re mistaken. Very soon, George is given the grave task of protecting Cosmos from his school bullies and an evil scientist (who happens to be his science teacher, Dr. Reeper) who wants to use the knowledge of the universe for his own benefit. His mission will only be accomplished if he succeeds in rescuing Eric from a black hole.

My Take

Adults and children alike will appreciate the lucid explanations of complex physics concepts provided to us in this children’s book by Stephen Hawking and his daughter Lucy.

Stephen Hawking is the bestselling author of A Brief History of Time (and its companion simplified version A Briefer History of Time) which has been said to “marry a child’s wonder to a genius’s intellect.” Lucy Hawking is an adult novelist and journalist. George’s Secret Key to the Universe is their first collaboration, and what fun it is!

Alongside a tale of scientific adventure, the Hawkings provide readers with scientific diagrams, charts, and full-color photos of real images from space, with help from Christophe Galfard, a former student of Stephen Hawking. The line illustrations by Garry Parsons also add a lighthearted feel to the book—the representation of George was charmingly reminescent of The Little Prince—and they certainly complement the voice of the novel – innocent, curious, and playful.

The novel also includes Hawking’s latest ideas on black holes. You see, for 30 years, Stephen Hawking believed that once a mass falls into a black hole, it was unrecoverable. However, in 2004, he cracked the black hole paradox and announced that he had been mistaken. “Black holes aren’t eternal prisons after all.”

Personally, I was most delighted by simplified explanation of Black Holes in George’s Secret Key. They are presented within the story as a series of scientist Eric’s notes, complete with handwritten doodles and age-appropriate language for Annie and George.

Connections

In the 1994 bestseller Sophie’s World, Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder gifted us with a fascinating primer on philosopher in novel form. He took us into the world of Sophie, a 15 year old who learned about the wisdom of thinkers from the pre-Socrates to St. Augustine through a series of letters from a mysterious correspondent. All the while, she was trying to solve a mystery. The device of wrapping intellectual lessons within a fictional narrative worked. It snapped up readers who might otherwise not pick up a “serious” work about high ideas—and allowed philosophy to seep into pop culture and the hands of the masses.

Lucy and Stephen Hawking’s George’s Secret Key to the Universe does the same thing—it packs lessons about the science of physics into an exciting children’s adventure, complete with likable (though sometimes stereotypical) characters. The end result: an informative and entertaining read for kids and adults alike.

I tell you: I certainly would have enjoyed reading a book like this when I was a kid. If I were a science fan, then this would have been a real treat. If I were a science foe (which I sort of was), then this would be a wonderful way to release me from my black hole of fear.

Either way, as an adult, this is certainly one book I enjoyed reading. If I were a parent, I’d read along with my kids. And, if I were a science teacher, I’d seriously consider employing the book in a middle or high school science curriculum.

The 411
George’s Secret Key to the Universe
By Stephen Hawking and Lucy Hawking
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
$17.99
ISBN: 1416954627
For ages 8 and up
Hits bookstores this week (Oct.23, 2007)

The National Book Awards website is featuring interviews with all the nominees. Rita Williams-Garcia interviewed all four Young People’s Literature Finalists:

• Sherman Alexie
• Brian Selznick
• Kathleen Duey
• M. Sindy Felin
• Sara Zarr

Another interview to check out is the one with Edwidge Danticat, whose Brother, I’m Dying I’ve been wanting to read ever since I read her Personal History piece “Marie Micheline” in the New Yorker last June.

In the same vein, I enjoyed this piece on NPR’s Bryant Park Project: Novels You Wish a Teacher Would Assign. High school senior Amber Wilson discusses the contenders for the Young People’s Literature Finalists, and makes her predictions for the top prize. You have to listen to see if you agree or not!

… And, this just in, thanks to Sree … “Every novel on Man Booker Prize Shortlist to be available free to online readers.”

The Man Booker Prize has been criticised over the years for selecting dark, unreadable and worthy tomes unlike the winners of other more populist literary prizes.

Now, in the week that Anne Enright became its 2007 winner, it is shaking off criticisms of being elitist and out of touch by taking the radical step of placing all its shortlisted novels online, available free to anyone worldwide. …

The downloads will not impact on sales, it is thought. If readers like a novel tasted on the internet, they may just be inspired to buy the actual book. Enright’s publisher – likened it to Radiohead’s experiment this month in which the new album, Rainbows, became downloadable on an “honesty box” basis. …

I already got my print UK edition of Animal’s People a few weeks ago, and am gearing up to review it and interview Indra Sinha (and if he’s amenable, Animal too) over the coming weeks … and all I have to say is that if I started reading that book online, I would definitely want a copy of it in my hands.

Once in a while, a perfect Sunday comes along. Yesterday was one such. After a lazy Sunday morning spent drinking home-made cappucino, I got to work, organizing all my books on a reachable bookshelf. I abandoned the alphabetical ordering system and came up with my own organization system with contemporary fiction, non-fiction, self-help, children’s books, picture books, India books, and writing books taking the cake for the largest categories.

I could really have stared at my bookshelf all day – that’s how thrilled I was – but thankfully it was good weather outside, so K. and I headed out after lunch to St. John the Divine for the first of what I hope will be regular doses of their free Sunday Recital Series.

On tap was “Django a Go-Go,” a tribute to the great acoustic Gypsy guitar genius Django Reinhardt by French guitarist Stephane Wrembel … Wrembel was accompanied by Ian Rapien on saxophone, Ari Folman Cohen on bass and Mike Wells on guitar. Sitting in The Crossing of what could be the world’s largest neo gothic cathedral (if it were ever finished), listening to Minor Swing and other original Django compositions … ah this is just what weekends are made for!

Afterwards, I took my NYT to the Cathedral garden (home of the Peace fountain) and read all my favorite sections while soaking in the sun. When I’d had my fill of sunshine, I began my walk home and stumbled upon many postcards advertising Meditate NYC, a free day of meditation, movement and performance in the annex of St. John the Divine. Of course, I couldn’t walk by without going in for a brief meditation session.

I was glad I did because now I’m definitely planning to check out one of the open houses around town this week:

Meditate NYC’s afternoon of meditation will be followed by a week of free Open Houses, October 22 – 29, at dozens of meditation groups and dharma centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City. With instruction by teachers from a range of Buddhist schools, MeditateNYC is an accessible way to find out what various approaches to meditation involve and what the benefits are.

So, I will hopefully be meditating this week, and not to steal Colbert’s line … so can you!

I was flipping channels on Jet Blue a couple of nights ago (I still can’t get over the fact that I could find nothing to watch from beginning to end during two six-hour flights). Anyway, at some point I landed on CNN’s Headline News channel.

Anchor Glenn Beck had a segment called “Atheist Agenda” where he was chatting up two very right-wing guests about the atheist agenda behind the upcoming movie The Golden Compass (starring Nicole Kidman), which is based on Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series Book I.

Sheesh.

BECK: I mean, I have my standards, America.

You know how Hollywood knows it has a potential hit on its hands? Probably when the movie in question pisses off as many people as possible, it`s always a good sign to them. With nearly two months to go before it actually hits theaters, “The Golden Compass” is the latest example of this controversy-to-cash equation, having already been the source of an angry press release by the Catholic League for, quote, “selling atheism to kids,” and, ironically enough, the National Secular Society of London, because the filmmakers took out all the really juicy anti-religious parts.

The film is based on the first installment of an award-winning children`s series called “His Dark Materials.” Nothing spooky or sketchy about that title, huh? The author is an avowed atheist. But if Tinseltown has already pretty much sanitized it for our protection, what`s the problem?

Well, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, authors of the wildly popular “Left Behind” series, are here to tell us.

Tim, let me start with you. What`s the problem with this movie?

TIM LAHAYE, AUTHOR, “LEFT BEHIND” BOOKS: Well, the problem is it`s a vicious attack on Christianity, the church, and moral values.

BECK: OK, the movie is or the book is?

LAHAYE: Well, nobody knows about the movie. They say that they`ve cleaned it up, but how do we know until we see it?

[Umm, well, you could start by reading the news articles that are out there. All mention of God has most certainly been cut from the "The Golden Compass."]

What got to me most was that neither of the guests had read the series, and neither had Glenn Beck. Yet, here they were making blanket statements about how it should be kept from the innocent eyes and minds of today’s youth:

BECK: Tim, you say that atheism is on the rise in this country and it`s tearing us apart, and I believe I agree with you.

LAHAYE: Well, it`s not only on the increase, but it`s becoming more evangelistic and more aggressive. And I think this is just one symptom. Pullman admits that he`s an activist atheist, and he`d like to tear down the church and discredit it in the eyes of the young people. I think this is more than entertainment, like “The Wizard of Oz.” This is something like indoctrination against belief in God.

BECK: OK. I have not — I`ve never even heard of this series before. Can either of you — have either of you read this series? Can you tell me what`s in it that is so disturbing, the things that are in it?

JENKINS: That`s the problem, is that we haven`t seen it and we don`t like people criticizing our stuff when we haven`t read it. But from all the things that have been quoted about the author, he clearly is, as Dr. LaHaye says, an active atheist and wants to propagate his views. You know, we live in a free society where we`re competing in the marketplace of ideas, and I say bring it on, but make it clear what you`re doing, and then if it`s something that kids shouldn`t see, then parents ought to keep them from seeing it.

Does Pullman describe himself as an atheist? On his website, he says:

is Dark Materials seems to be against organised religion. Do you believe in God?

I don’t know whether there’s a God or not. Nobody does, no matter what they say. I think it’s perfectly possible to explain how the universe came about without bringing God into it, but I don’t know everything, and there may well be a God somewhere, hiding away.

Actually, if he is keeping out of sight, it’s because he’s ashamed of his followers and all the cruelty and ignorance they’re responsible for promoting in his name. If I were him, I’d want nothing to do with them.

In a more indepth interview about his view of organized religion, he says, “Can I elucidate my own position as far as atheism is concerned? I don’t know whether I’m an atheist or an agnostic. I’m both, depending on where the standpoint is.” [read the full interview at Third Way Magazine, a British publication that looks at "the modern world through Christian eyes." It's fascinating. ] …

Later in the same interview:

A lot of people assume from The Amber Spyglass that you must be an atheist.Well, they can assume what they like. Of course, I don’t say, ‘There is no God.’ I say: ‘There is a God, and here he is dying’ – and this is what I was particularly pleased with, as a result of an act of charity. And he goes ‘with a sigh of the most profound and exhausted relief’.

Would it have been too much trouble for one of Beck’s assistants or producers to have picked up the book and actually done some research? Or, to have invited a reader or reviewer on board who actually has studied or read Pullman’s books? I’m sure Huw Spanner, who interviewed Pullman for Third Way which is a magazine for people who haven’t lost faith in God or lost touch with the world” would have had some interesting points to add to the discussion.

“Fie to those British authors out to poison our children’s minds,” these guests seemed to be saying. “If it’s not C.S. Lewis, we won’t read it.”

Sigh. I wouldn’t expect this of CNN. But then again, I’m not surprised. Whatever has happened to debating two sides of an issue and the role of the media as the 4th estate?

Thanks to The Rational Response Squad for posting a transcript, from which I excerpted above.

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Rediscovering Fantasy

On Tuesday afternoon, Maurice Sendak visited Scholastic as part of its Design Forum series. The auditorium was full of eager art and design and word people (aka editors and writer), including me.

“Are you ready to jump right in?” asked David Saylor, VP and Creative Director of Scholastic Trade Books.

Maurice Sendak leaned forward in his arm chair. “Jump,” he said very in a matter-of-fact yet mischievous tone. “I want to jump!”

That was the beginning of a thrilling, funny, inspiring Q&A with the noted children’s book illustrator and writer, author of Where the Wild Things Are and many, many more picture books, including his most recent, the fabulous pop-up book Mommy (of whose cover he joked, “Clearly the mummy is me—the falling apart old man who is hugging the world, you. Now that we know who’s who, we can get started!)

Sendak, who is 79 years old and lives in Connecticut, was casual and unassuming, wearing a sweatshirt, cotton pants, and Nike sneakers. He has an impeccable sense of timing in his storytelling and a meandering narrative style that I absolutely fell in love with. No matter where his answers took him, he always came back to the point – and what points he made!

During the 90 minute talk, Sendak talked about his early career in children’s book publishing – he started out at Harper Collins doing “sweet books” that were not truly his passion. He was fortunate enough to have an editor Ursula Nordstrom who fed him various book projects though while supporting and mentoring him to start doing the books he wanted to do.

When he began working on Where the Wild Things Are, the book that is synonymous with his name, he never thought of it as his masterpiece. “I just thought that it was my next book,” he said during his talk. “Plus, it was my way of getting back at all my old Jewish relatives–especially Uncle Joe–who used to visit us on Sundays in Brooklyn. One day they would look a lot like this! It was my way of getting even at them for their pinching and poking and their irrational physical treatment of kids.”

I told you he was funny! But, he’s also so unafraid to talk about the irrational and real fears that accost us as children (and let’s be honest about it, as adults too.) Actually, he told us about how the Lindbergh Kidnapping left him feeling real afraid. He thought that since he was a kid, he would also get kidnapped. During this time, he asked his father to sleep at the foot of his bed with a stick, just in case someone came to get him at night. One day, his Uncle Joe said to his father, “But why would anyone want to kidnap this kid?” Sendak paused as he told this story, then looked at the audience and said, “The ugliest character in Where the Wild Things Are - that’s my Uncle Joe! I hated him from that moment until the day that he died.”

Through all his answers, Sendak repeatedly came back to the theme of childhood. To him, this is a state of mind that should never be lost. I don’t think he tries to imagine what a child thinks or feels when he writes his books. He has held those feelings inside of himself.

“To my books I brought some of the bitterness of childhood, some of the awfulness of childhood, some of the stupidity of parents … and that’s how I made my career!” he said.

And, that’s what makes his work so authentic, isn’t it? My friend Cari called him the “Kurt Vonnegut of children’s literature” – a title I love because yes, he is skeptical, cynical, and ironic and still, hopeful and … a dreamer. (more…)

I was switching subways at 42nd St. yesterday and noticed a huge trash can that was literally overflowing with newspapers. Not the NY Times, but dailies such as AM New York and Metro that are distributed for free in the following ways:

The first being by workers (“hawkers,” who sport a red AM New York vest) paid to station themselves near and around NYC transportation points, who offer the free paper to anyone who passes by; The second being distributed in enclosed newspaper holders (“honor boxes”) located on the sidewalks and corners near areas of high pedestrian traffic. (source: wikipedia)

Did you know that 38.2 percent of our total waste is from paper and paperboard? Plus, if Americans recycled just half of the 62 million newspapers read every day, we’d need 3200 fewer garbage trucks to collect our trash.

I wish I had a camera to take a picture of the dozens of papers scattered all over the floor that I saw today. It made me so angry. It also made me wonder why the companies that publish these free dailies (AM New York calls itself “Manhattan’s largest circulation daily”) and can probably afford to have newspaper holders all over the city do not deem it worthwhile to strategically place paper recycling bins “around NYC transportation points” as well. They could get advertisers to sponsor these bins, couldn’t they?

After all, it is no mystery that these papers are intended for an audience of harried commuters; short news blurbs are written to be read along one’s journey from home to work. When people are done with them, they unload them in the nearest trash can.

I decided to do some research, and learned that Metro NY actually launched a recycling program last October at Grand Central Station:

For riders whose commute ends at Grand Central, Metro promoters are available to collect the read copies, clean them and redistribute them to new readers during the lunchtime hours. [more]

I don’t really know whether this is still effective, and I couldn’t find any information about a recycling program from AM New York. But, I do know that at this time last year, The Sun had published a special report about the effects of free newspapers on subway flooding:

Free newspapers distributed to subway commuters are a major cause of subway track flooding, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority investigative task force has found. Leftover stacks of papers such as AM New York and Metro that blew onto the tracks and clogged drains were partially responsible for the crippling subway flood of September 8, 2004, which affected 15 subway lines, according to the task force’s findings. [more]

I never heard anything about this problem during the latest floods in June 07. But knowing that this has been true in the past makes me wish even more to see my daily path to work interrupted by blue plastic bins. We could even have the Blue Man Group inaugurate this project., and that would be great publicity for these papers.

Cities like Washington DC and Chicago already have newspaper recycling bins. Why can’t NYC? I’d propose that free dailies partner with each other to provide them. When the task is shared, it perhaps will not seem like such a burden. And, maybe it will make the City of NY look bad – and that can prompt it to get its act together and start a city recycling program. It’s about time.

And, for the commuting masses like myself, I have one last word: Until companies start wearing the cloak of social entrepreneurship, if we are interested enough in reading the news, can we not carry our newspapers to a recycling bin at our offices, and throw them out there, instead of littering the subway platform, leaving them on our subway seats, and/or dumping them in overflowing dustbins?

The NYT has an ongoing series of personal essays called “Home Fires” where five Iraq war veterans reflect on their return to American life.

Sandi Austin’s piece “A Timely Obsession” really resonated with me. In it, she talks about the American addiction to the big T – Time, and compares it to the Iraqi laid back attitude to schedules and dictated calendars – which is best examplified by the word insha’llah.

“Insha’Allah” literally means “God willing,” but from what I experienced working with the Ninevah Provincial Council, the phrase has myriad connotations: relax, don’t worry, no need to stress, or don’t rush.

When K. first met me, he was perplexed about how I, a Hindu living in the U.S., was always saying ‘insha’llah’. (It’s funny – I had never thought twice about my use of the word, but then I started wondering: how would people respond if I sprinkled this word in my conversations regularly? That’s another conversation though, which would take us to a larger question that perhaps the new TV show Aliens in America will address?)

Since so much of my family has lived in Morocco, for the past half-century, this word generously peppers all our conversations. In our family vocabulary, insha’llah is a cultural expression that serves as our green card of daily living. It permits us to exist with a go with the flow approach.

“Karishma is getting married in June. I hope you can make it,” my uncle said to me last January. “Insha’llah,” I replied. “We’ll see.”

Didn’t mean I don’t want to go. Simply meant that I was recognizing the principle of uncertainty that pervades all our lives–and surrendering to that uncertainty. My uncle immediately understood. “Yes, insha’llah, you’ll make it,” he said.

Just adding this phrase to my mental train of thought allows me to manage my expectations–and those of others around me–because as we all know, so much can change in life from moment to moment, from day to day, from thought to thought.

It’s a good word to keep in one’s back pocket. I’ve thought often about an English equivalent and haven’t come up with one. We’ll see doesn’t cut it. Neither does God willing.

In Austin’s piece, she makes an astute observation about the omnipresence of the clock on the American landscape, and tells us about the importing of the clock tower in an Iraqi town square.

In America, we value time enough that we often make it the centerpiece in a town square. While working with the governor I was involved in getting the funding to build a city park. This park was located across the street from city hall which afforded me the opportunity to watch the development of the park day after day. The finishing touch, which I can say definitely had American influence, was a three-sided clock tower, painted purple, staring down at the Iraqis from all angles. Having driven different routes to City Hall and surrounding cities day after day, I honestly can’t remember seeing a clock in any town center.

I couldn’t help but wonder as I read this: How is the clock tower going to get appropriated by the “insha’llah” mindset? Somehow, I just can’t see it dictating the lives of Iraqis the way it dictates ours.

Oops, the clock has struck 8 am. Time for me to go to work. Insha’llah!