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Summary
Summary
"A rich resource that will be consulted as frequently by children's literature professionals and by genre fans themselves." -- Booklist (starred review)
What kind of child were you? When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? Why do you write fantasy?
"Fantasy," writes Leonard S. Marcus, "is storytelling with the beguiling power to transform the impossible into the imaginable and to reveal our own 'real' world in a fresh and truth-bearing light." Few have harnessed this power with the artistry, verve, and imagination of the authors encountered in this compelling book. How do they work their magic?
Finely nuanced and continually revealing, Leonard S. Marcus's interviews range widely over questions of literary craft and moral vision, as he asks thirteen noted fantasy authors about their pivotal life experiences, their literary influences and work routines, and their core beliefs about the place of fantasy in literature and in our lives. Back matter includes an index.
Author Notes
Leonard S. Marcus is one of the world's most respected writers about children's literature. His essays, interviews, and reviews appear in the New York Times Book Review , a regular column for Parenting magazine, and numerous other publications. His books include A Caldecott Celebration , Author Talk , Storied City , Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom , and other titles for both adults and young readers.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
The Wand in the Word: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy, ed. by Leonard S. Marcus, gathers in a Q&A format Marcus's discussions with 13 prominent fantasy writers, such as Lloyd Alexander, Susan Cooper, Brian Jacques and Ursula K. Le Guin. Photographs of rough drafts-often handwritten-and writers' libraries or desks, along with these probing interviews, make this a must for fantasy fans. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Middle School, High School) ""Fantasy helps you think more clearly when things are mad,"" says Diana Wynne Jones. ""Fantasy is like an exercise bicycle for the mind,"" says Terry Pratchett. ""Writing,"" says Franny Billingsley, ""is like digging in a quarry with a butter knife."" These perceptions are only a few of the incisive comments in interviews with thirteen fantasy writers, among them Lloyd Alexander, Susan Cooper, Nancy Farmer, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Philip Pullman. Wisdom, variety, and humor characterize this unusual exposition of creativity and courage, a book that holds great treasures for the avid reader, budding literary critic, aspiring writer, lost soul, and plain curious. Marcus asks core questions of each writer: What kind of child were you? Did you enjoy school? What do you tell young people who say they want to write? With writers born between 1918 (Madeleine L'Engle) and 1963 (Garth Nix), there's a heartening variety of backgrounds, struggles, previous jobs (longshoreman, fruit-fly DNA mapper, reporter), methodologies, and words of advice. Taken altogether, these interviews, illustrated with photos of the writers and sample draft or manuscript pages (sometimes heavily blue-penciled), offer remarkable insight into the many ways imagination and fantasy work; even better, they provide the best of encouragement for young people trying to find their way in the world. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Gr. 6-9. Spotlighting a genre that has mushroomed in popularity, Marcus' latest may draw in even those young people who typically prefer to read, rather than read about, the books and authors they admire. Following the same format as his Ways of Telling: Conversations on the Art of the Picture Book0 (2000), Marcus presents interviews with 13 fantasy luminaries, including Lloyd Alexander, Susan Cooper, Nancy Farmer, Brian Jacques, Garth Nix, Tamora Pierce, and Philip Pullman. The writers' distinct personalities and career paths emerge, as do intriguing similarities; many authors, for instance, speak of the profound impact of World War II (Diane Wynne Jones recalls that wartime hazards convinced her that "the most appalling and peculiar things are liable to happen at any time"). Each profile includes a black-and-white author's photo, a reading list, and a bit of ephemera, often a handwritten manuscript page. Although the absence of J. K. Rowling is surprising, this remains a rich resource that will be consulted as frequently by children's literature professionals as by genre fans themselves, many of whom will particularly welcome each fantasist's advice to aspiring authors--from the simple, sage words of Ursula Le Guin, "Read. Write. Read. Write. Go on reading. Go on writing," to Jane Yolen's delightfully blunt "BIC: butt in chair!" --Jennifer Mattson Copyright 2006 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5 Up-Using well-focused questions, Marcus interviewed 13 master writers of the genre. He asked each one about wellsprings, the influence of antecedents, writing habits, revisions, and the effects of the times (many carry memories of World War II) in which they wrote. In the process, he uncovered fascinating revelations about where writers' ideas come from and the themes that the authors deal with. One common thread is homage to J. R. R. Tolkien: Susan Cooper took a class from him; Madeleine L'Engle devoured the three LOTR volumes in as many days; and Ursula LeGuin returns to the novels again and again. However, Philip Pullman can find little in the works now that resonates for him. Marcus also elicits pithy quotes, such as this one from Terry Pratchett: "Fantasy is like an exercise bicycle for the mind. It might not actually take you anywhere, but it does exercise the muscles that will." Each lively and highly readable interview ends with some advice to would-be writers that, unsurprisingly, suggests that reading voraciously, as did Garth Nix and Nancy Farmer, and writing anything (stories for the school paper, bits of character descriptions) are ways in. The elegantly designed volume includes photos of the authors, their working spaces, and a typical manuscript page or working outline. Interviews with Tamora Pierce, Lloyd Alexander, Franny Billingsley, Brian Jacques, Diana Wynne Jones, and Jane Yolen are also included in this essential volume for fantasy readers of all ages.-Susan Hepler, formerly at Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
LEONARD S. MARCUS: How did you choose the daemons for the characters of His Dark Materials? PHILIP PULLMAN: Some I didn't have to choose. It was obvious what they should be. I knew that Mrs. Coulter's daemon was going to be a golden monkey. Monkeys for me have a kind of sinister quality to them. There's a wonderful ghost story by the Victorian writer Sheridan Le Fanu called 'Green Tea.' An apparition of an evil little monkey appears in that story, and it made a huge impression on me when I first read it as a child. Maybe the memory of that story was haunting me, and that's why it was so clear what Mrs. Coulter's daemon would be. Q: Why does Lyra's daemon become a marten? A: There is a painting by Leonardo da Vinci showing a young woman holding her pet, a ferret in its white winter coat - an ermine. I've always liked that picture. I make a habit of looking out for pictures of people, as it were, with their daemons. . . . Q: You must have thought about what your own daemon would be. A: Not very much, actually. I suppose I think of her as a bird, probably one of those dull, drab-looking birds, like a jackdaw, which makes a habit of stealing bright things. She hangs around inconspicuously listening for little bright snippets of conversation or an anecdote and then picks them up when nobody's looking and brings them back to me, and we make a story out of them. _______ THE WAND IN THE WORD compiled and edited by Leonard S. Marcus. Copyright (c) 2006 by Leonard S. Marcus. Published by Candlewick Press, Inc., Cambridge, MA. Excerpted from The Wand in the Word: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.