Claire Rudolf Murphy: My Country 'Tis of Thee

This installment of the Inkpot Interviews welcomes Claire Rudolf Murphy on the occasion of the release of her  newest book, My Country 'Tis of Thee (Brian Collier, illustrator, Henry Holt, publisher.)  

Please describe the book.
More than any other, one song traces America’s history of patriotism and protest. Everyone knows the words to “My Country, ’Tis of Thee.” What most don’t realize is that this iconic song has been a beacon of change for hundreds of years. Generations of protesters and civil rights pioneers have created new lyrics, beginning in royalist Britain and continuing through conflicts in colonial times, the American Revolution, the suffragist and labor movements, and the struggles for black and Native American civil rights.

As the story progressed from inception to copy-edited version, what were the major changes? How did those changes come about? When did you first begin work on it? When did you finish?
This is one of my projects that simmered for years as I researched individuals throughout American history who had stood up for equal rights. I couldn’t find a riveting structure to hold all this material until I came across the suffragist verse to this familiar song. I can remember the moment when I thought—wow—I wonder if other protest groups also wrote verses for causes they believed in. I began discovering that they had from colonial protestors to abolitionists to Native American activists. Without all my research, I don’t believe I would have recognized what a great vessel this was to tell our country’s civil rights’ history. It is important to keep writing, to not give reviews too much power, but when esteemed librarian Betsy Bird “got” what I was trying to do, I must admit to sheer delight.

The marketing/publicity component of publishing is not a forte of mine, but the format of the book helped me use two of my strengths—a love of music and working with students—in my promotional efforts. Two local Spokane choirs recorded the verses from the book and they are now available on my web site for online listening.

My invitation at the end of the book to “write a new verse for a cause you believe in” has led to a national contest, inviting classes and individual students to submit new verses for a chance to win a book or a poster of Aretha Franklin singing at President Obama’s inauguration. New verses from Spokane students were shared at my book reading June 7^th, such this one by a class of 5^th and 6^th graders.

My country ‘tis of thee

So sad the poverty

Homeless abound.

God keep them in your sight

Help us relieve their plight

Shelter them for the night

New hope is found.

Spread the word. The national contest will run the month of September and entries can be submitted online.

Your first book was published in 1991—many, many years ago. What have you learned about the business of writing since then?
To keep believing in myself and my work, even when the market seems to be changing. My creativity is at its best when I am charged and confident and not worried about what publishers are looking for, but how best to tell a story that I believe in. I have also learned that rather than be intimidated by the new social media, my tech savvy friends will back me up and help get the word out there. We help each other in different way s and that’s what helps us survive this challenging and exciting writing world we live in.

Where do you do most of your writing?
I’d like to say at my desk looking out over the park, with nature and dog walkers inspiring my every word. But due to my busy mind, sometimes I end up upstairs in front of my light box, on the couch with my laptop, or when really desperate—at the Gonzaga University law library where no talking, internet or phone calls are allowed.

Do you remember the first book you loved?
Little Women. I know that it sounds cliched, but I truly loved that book and wanted to be—not Jo, the writer and actress, but Beth, the pianist and beloved sister. Yes, I know that she died. So today I hope I can be brave like Jo and kind and loving like Beth. I know, quite a lot to live up to, but that’s what books can inspire in us. I also read every juvenile biography on the shelf at our public library.

What meal would you serve to friends?
How I love to go out to dinner and be served. But lately I have become somewhat like Katherine Hepburn who stopped going out to restaurants because she was always disappointed with food or service. I eat mostly a vegetarian diet, so this time of year we are in garden heaven with all the fresh produce making its way to our table. What could be better? Times like this I wish that I lived closer to Hamline, so I could see some of my dear writer friends more often and talk over wine, pasta and fresh veggies.

***

To learn more about Claire and her writing, please visit her website.

 

Alumni Voices: Andrew Steeves

A Procrastinator’s Tale

I am, if nothing else, a very thorough procrastinator.

Take this blog post. When the always impressive Marsha Q first gave me the deadline of June 2^nd, I assured her that, since my daughter was due to be born on May 27^th, she would be receiving my post many weeks before that time, because in addition to being a procrastinator, I am also an idealist.

Time passed, as it tends to do, and I found myself thinking about this blog post as a thing I should do, which really is a delightful feeling to have. I love having things that I should do, because it makes me feel important. I love the feeling so much, that I tend not to do a great many things I should do, because then I will continue to should be doing them.

Of course, like all states of conflated ego, there’s a moment where the importance turns to shame. It’s no longer a thing I should do, but a thing I should have done by now. That is when a special kind of reasoning kicks in.

“I’ll just do it after my child is born.” I thought with no sense of irony. After all, I had a whole five day window between my daughter’s entrance into the world and this post’s due date. Not only did I earnestly believe this to be a completely rational plan, I romanticized it a little bit. I pictured myself in the hospital recovery room, sitting next to my sleeping wife with my brand new baby daughter in a bassinet at the foot of our bed, my laptop open on my lap. I’d write about how all my life I wrote books for children without having a child of my own. How everything would be different. How my worldview had been transformed. There wouldn’t be a dry eye in the house.

Not only was this a stupid plan, it turned out to be an impossible one. It turns out my daughter is just as much a procrastinator as I am, and at the time of this writing (June 2^nd), has yet to make an appearance.

Procrastination is nothing foreign to the writer. We have all these fantastic stories in our heads, and the only obstacle to sharing them with the world is the hours and hours sitting at a desk translating the language of your brain into something other people can understand.

I can have, in my head, the greatest story in the world, but it means nothing if I don’t put in the work translating. It’s this work that separates the career writers from the hobbyists, and without trying to pander or flatter, I can honestly say the value of work is a lesson that I learned at Hamline.

One thing I’m sure other alumni can attest to is how easy it is, outside of the strictures of Hamline, to procrastinate. To fall out of the habit of writing. No more deadlines, no brilliant teacher eagerly awaiting your work. It’s just you, the page, and a cruel uncaring world.

So, how do you continue to write under those circumstances? How do you avoid procrastination?

It’s a question I don’t have an answer to. I still procrastinate on a lot of things in my life. I don’t cash checks in a timely manner. I’m always late to bed, and often late to rise.

But I’m proud to announce that I still write. I’ve completed five additional drafts of my novel since leaving Hamline, and this next draft will most likely be my last before I seek an agent. While I still struggle with procrastination, I still write, and I know exactly why.

I write because I have to. I write because I have a burning passion to write. Even when it’s tedious. Even when I’d rather put it off.

Because some things are worth forcing yourself to do.

***

Andrew Steeves is a 2013 graduate of the MFAC program. He lives in Wisconsin.

 

Faculty Voices: Jackie Briggs Martin

Lighten Up

I have been working on a story that is not funny—and I think it needs to be. It’s not that I want this to be a comic story with lots of laughs—like  Weasels who want to take over the world.

But the story has felt too unremittingly trudging. And it’s a picturebook!  It seems to need a little lightener. 

It’s not unusual to lighten dark stories with a humorous character.  We can all recall how the Porter in the play Macbeth breaks the tension surrounding the murder of the king with his soliloquy on portering at the gates of Hell. But what I’m working on is for young kids—no door-keeper for the gates of Hell in this story. 

So I have been thinking about ways to add humor to lighten the tone, give the reader a little break.  How do writers combine the heavy and the light? And do they do it in picture books, or are picture books even in tone—some funny, some sad, but rarely sad ones lightened by a humorous character?  I decided to do a little study—find some picture books that deal with heavier subjects and look for the lightening, the break in seriousness.

Ezra Jack Keats was not afraid to tackle the harder issues of childhood. In Goggles Peter and Archie find a prize—a pair of goggles. Before they can enjoy them, some big kids come along and demand the goggles. This could be serious. The big kids aren’t fooling around. Two little kids against three bullies: what will Peter and Archie do?  Peter refuses to give up the goggles, gets knocked down and the goggles fall out of his pocket.  Willie the Dachshund grabs the goggles and runs. Right then we have a clue that it’s all going to be ok. Willie is a funny dog. Keats could have had their dog be a regular mutt, or a German Shepard, or a Collie. But he chose short-legged, long-bodied Willie.

But Ezra Jack Keats doesn’t only rely on a funny dog.  In Louie we see a lonely child (“I never heard a word out of him,” Roberto says. “’Me neither,’ said Susie.”)  whose dreams repeat his experience of children laughing at him, whose first friend is a puppet named Gussie.  Does Ezra Jack Keats  add any leavening to this boy’s story?  

Well, he doesn’t toss in a comical character. But Louie’s sad tone is broken by the thoughtfulness of the two kids who are putting on the show, Susie and Roberto. When Louie stands up at the beginning of the show and starts talking to Gussie, they don’t yell at him or laugh at him:

We’d better have Gussie answer him,” Susie says.  And she says, in Gussie’s voice, “Hi Louie. Nice to see you. But me and the mouse gotta get on with the show. Won’t you please sit down? There’s  lots more to come.” 

 After the show, when they offer Louie a chance to say good-bye to Gussie and he grabs her and won’t put her down, they do not grab back:

 “What’ll I do now?" Susie whispered to Roberto.

“Gussie is very tired,” explained Roberto.

“She has to go home now.” 

At the end of the story, Louie receives a note that says, “Go outside and follow the long green string.” At the end of the string is a gift from Susie and Roberto—Gussie.

Without the kindnesses of these two kids, Louie’s story would be too bleak for young readers.  It would read more like a case study. The kindnesses balance Louie’s loneliness and make a satisfying whole.

One more: one of my all-time favorite books is The Gardener by Sarah Stewart, illustrated by David Small. And it has a pretty bleak premise: Lydia Grace Finch has to leave her family, go and live in the city with Uncle Jim because it’s the Depression and her parents do not have money enough to feed her. Sarah Stewart spices the story with bits of humor—Papa says  the way to recognize Uncle Jim is to “Just look at Mama’s face with a big nose and a mustache!”  Then there's Lydia's own perky personality that gives buoyancy to the story. And Lydia has a goal—to get a smile out of Uncle Jim. That goal is the thread that pulls us through the story. Lydia plans a surprise. Will it be enough to make Uncle Jim smile?

So back to work, with a few new tools—maybe I’ll add a new character to this story;  or add something to the main character or braid in threads of kindness toward my main character; or add humor along the way through image or metaphor, or dialogue; or—probably hardest of all— find a way to express that one question that won’t be answered until the end of the book. 

For the long haul, I’m going to take up reading cartoonist Bob Mankoff’s blog to develop my humor muscles and keep watching for other picture books that blend humor with the hard stuff. I'd love to hear about your favorites.

Inkpot Interviews: Tamera Will Wissinger

Tamera Will Wissinger is a January, 2009 graduate of the Hamline MFAC program. Her picture book, This Old Band (illus. by Matt Loveridge), will be published June 3, 2014 by Sky Pony Press. Tamera lives in Vero Beach, Florida. You can learn more about Tamera and her writing by visiting her website.

Please describe the book.

In This Old Band, a ragtag band of cowboys and a cowgirl dance, play their instruments, and make noise out on the open range while they count down from ten to one all day and night to the tune of a familiar folk song.

As the story progressed from inception to copy-edited version, what were the major changes?

This was always a counting concept book that featured rugged westerners, but initially I envisioned a story that included a duel. After many attempts and rewrites over a number of years, it became clear to me that these characters did not want to fight; they wanted to play!

How did those changes come about?

I started to think harder about concept books, what made them work, and what I had loved to sing or chant when I was young. Once I settled on the rhythm of "This Old Man," I shelved my original drafts and focus on ways for this band to perform. 

When did you first begin work on it?

I began working on that initial dueling story shortly after a trip to Jackson, Wyoming in 2008, however; I think the story probably began brewing in my mind after earlier trips I had taken to New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. Having grown up in the Midwest and spending much of my time in Florida, on each of those trips west I was captivated by how the dust and light work together, the sweeping landscapes of valleys, peaks and mesas, the sometimes lush, sometimes sparse vegetation, up-close wildlife and far away ranches, national forests, the good, hearty people, the history…I need to visit again soon!

When did you finish?

The current version felt complete in 2012 and that’s when I began submitting it to editors.

What research was involved before and while writing the book?

Before writing the book, I let my imagination run with the images from my western trips. After I had written a solid draft, I had a great discussion with fellow Hamline Alum and reader extraordinaire, Jamie Swenson, where she helped me clarify my purpose and the story’s focus. From that point, as I zeroed in on the specific images featured in each spread, I verified that those images would hang together to create the setting.

Gone Fishing, your first book, was published in 2013. What have you learned about the business of writing since then?

We may write alone, but producing a book and helping it reach readers is a wonderfully collaborative business. Before release, there is a huge amount of behind-the-scenes work happening with the editor and her or his team to complete the book and prepare for release – that includes artwork coordination, layout, first and second page reviews, copy editing, internal marketing and sales, promotions, etc. Then once the book is out in the world, teachers, librarians, booksellers, fellow authors, friends, children and parents – any book lover, really – can have a huge impact on how a book is received by helping spread the word through social media, word of mouth, invitations to events, etc. I’ve always treasured places where I can find books – libraries, schools, and bookstores – after the release of Gone Fishing I have an added admiration for anyone who helps books reach places where they can nurture reader.

Where do you do most of your writing?

Lately I've been "writing in my head" while I'm physically doing something else that doesn't require all of my attention. For example, while I'm cleaning or standing in line at the store, I find myself working through a plot point, or a rhythm or rhyme structure for a poem. I'm lucky enough to have a writing space in my home with plenty of books and a door when I need it. It's where I go when I'm ready to get those thoughts down or ready to decipher a scribble on a grocery receipt.

Do you remember the first book you loved?

Yes! It’s a counting book called Over in the Meadow, based on the original version by Olive A. Wadsworth and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. It was a gift from my grandparents and uncle and it came with a record. I loved hearing that baritone voice chant, “Over in the meadow in the sand in the sun, lived an old mother turtle and her little turtle one.” I’m sure I replayed that story hundreds of times, probably driving my mother batty. That rhythm and rhyme and those images are huge parts of my fiber as a writer and poet. I still have the book, but, sadly, the record has disappeared.