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| November 2006 Children's/Young Adult Authors Meeting Minutes |
Twenty writers attended the meeting at Vera B. Williams' home. One of
the topics we discussed was the issue of "truthiness,” a word coined by
Stephen Colbert to refer to the trickyness of “truth.” Our early-spring
panel on how authors attempt to create “truth” in various genres will
include Vera B. Williams and Susan Campbell Bartoletti. Susan Kuklin
will moderate.
At this meeting, we talked about Ms. Bartoletti’s book Hitler Youth,
a nonfiction account of World War Two from the German point of view,
which gives readers a vivid portrait of how the children of Germany
were indoctrinated to serve the Reich’s aims. Beginning at the ages
nine and ten—ages when they’re most susceptible to the seductiveness of
special clothing, camping, and sports—children were prepared to become
useful war workers as well as cannon fodder for Hitler’s armies. The
book includes interviews of surviving men and women who speak about how
their actions as children affected the rest of their lives.
PEN Member Doris Orgel mentioned a novel she translated from the German, Daniel Half Human and the Good Nazi,
by David Chotjewitz, in which a boy discovers that his mother is half
Jewish and perceived by the Nazis as half human. Miriam Chaikin's book
A Nightmare in History was also mentioned, as was The Book Thief,
a remarkable novel by Australian author Marcus Zusak. We are hoping
that Mr. Zusak will be one of our panelists at PEN’s 2007 World Voices
Festival. Neil Gaiman has accepted our invitation to participate on the
panel. Other distinguished writers are being pursued as well.
Vera B. Williams mentioned a Boston-based organization, Facing History
and Ourselves, which offers schools a thoughtful program as a catalyst
for classroom discussions of the Holocaust.
We also spoke about Forever After
(edited by Maureen Grolnick; Teachers College Press), a collection of
essays by NYC public school teachers about what they said and did with
students in their charge after the Sept. 11, 2001 disaster. Many
viewpoints are presented—including those of the children, their
parents, teachers, school maintenance workers, and so on.
PEN Member Richard Lewis spoke about the work of his nonprofit
organization, the Touchstone Center, with 200 children at The
Children's Workshop School on Twelfth Street and Avenue D. Many of
these children had close ties with people who lost their lives in the
twin towers. Richard suggested a theme, The Bird of Imagination,
which inspired children to make painted wood "feathers" to affix to a
steel bird sculpture that was placed in a local park and ultimately
made its nest in the school's own courtyard where it can be seen to
this day. The project, which took a year to complete, is documented in
a Touchstone publication that includes illustrations of the children's
creations.
We hope you enjoy these minutes and welcome your feedback! Please write
to franm@nyc.rr.com and Susan Kuklin at skuklin1@nyc.rr.com
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