Karen Cushman - Blast from the Past Interview

I didn't plan to meet one of my all time idols while I was wearing a Mother Goose costume, but that's what I had on when I met the great Karen Cushman. She is the author of one of my favorite books, Catherine Called Birdy, which I have bought for gifts probably 40 times. Charming, inspiring, and a multiple Newbery winner, Karen spoke at last summer's SCBWI conference in LA. It is my great honor to have Karen Cushman interview for the blog.

When and why did you start writing for children?

I began writing when I was almost 50 because I had an idea for a story about a girl who lived a long time ago and I wanted to know what happened to her.

I wanted to know what she did and felt and what her life was like, and the only way I could do that was to make it up and write it down.  So I did, and that idea grew into Catherine Called Birdy, my first book.

What is the most valuable advice you can give to a newly published writer?

First of all, enjoy!  There is no more exciting time than the publication of your first book--okay, maybe getting married and having children.  But you've worked hard for this moment so enjoy.  Then realize that your work has not finished with publication.
You will need to network, to publicize your book, to talk and write about it until you wonder why you wrote it in the first place.  And you will need to learn to say no, to pick and choose commitments, to protect your time so you can start working on your next book, which is probably bubbling away in your head already.
 
What are some of your favorite children’s books that you'd like to recommend?

I think Sarah Plain and Tall is a masterpiece of a book and a writing class in miniature.  I also like the historical novels of Rosemary Sutcliffe, Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson,  Laurie Halse Anderson’s Chains, Missing May by Cynthia Rylant, and Down Sand Mountain by Steve Watkins.

What are you working on now?

I am actually working on a book about a boy--it will be my first with a male lead character and is for that reason a challenge.  Will Sparrow's Road tells of a runaway boy who finally learns to give and receive trust, care, and affection.  I am almost finished with a first draft, which is by far the hardest part for me, and looking forward to taking those rough 100 pages and making them into a real book.

What is your favorite dessert and why?

Pumpkin pie--no question.  Not only does it taste fabulous but it makes me think of autumn, which is my favorite time of year.

 
BIO:

I was born in Chicago. My favorite things about Chicago were snow, summer lightning storms, and my grandparents. When I was 10, we moved to Los Angeles where there were none of those things. It was too hot. I was grumpy. You can read The Ballad of Lucy Whipple to see how I felt.

I loved books and would read anything I could get my hands on: Little Lulu comic books, Rufus M. and The Middle Moffatt, Homer Price and the Doughnut Machine, Mad magazine and Seventeen and cereal boxes. And I wrote enthusiastically: poems, plays, short stories, and even a novel (six chapters in three pages!). I didn’t know anyone else who wrote and certainly no adult who wrote for a living, so I never thought about being a writer. I just wrote. For my real job I wanted to be a movie star or a ballet dancer, an archaeologist or a brain surgeon, depending on what book I had just read.

In 1959 I went to college at Stanford University. What a change from Los Angeles. It was the first time I realized I didn’t have to get married and do laundry and spend my life making bologna sandwiches for my kids’ lunches.

Now I live on a soft, green island near Seattle with my husband, Philip, who is a professor. Our daughter, Leah, is a librarian. The love of books runs in the family.

 
 

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Comments

[lorie brallier]

Thanks Tina for bringing us Karen Cushman. A really great interview.

[[email protected]]

Thanks, Tina and Karen! Catherine Called Birdy is not only one of my favorites - but it changed my life as a reader and a writer, helping me understand that emotions are timeless.

[Robyn Hood Black]

Great interview, Tina! Thanks for sharing.

[val hobbs]

Isn't it heartening that this fabulous writer didn't start writing until she was fifty? Thanks for bringing her to us, Tina. And to think, you actually got to meet her! Cool!

[Patricia Cruzan]

Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions, Karen. Learning to choose what you will be involved in is not easy to do, but it is important. For years, I used the book, Sarah Plain and Tall with my students. It is a delightful book.