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| SCBWI
France |
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| Meet
the Pros |
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| SCBWI France publishes interviews
both in the SCBWI France Expression newsletter
and on-line. These interviews offer an insider's
view of the international children’s
publishing market. |
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| Bobbi
Katz |
Bobbi
Katz has written several
professional books, a biography
of Nelson Mandela, three "I
Can Read" books, and more,
but she is best known for her
poetry collections: "Truck
Talk: Rhymes on Wheels"
(Scholastic/Cartwheel Books)
"Could We Be Friends? Poems
for Pals" (Mondo) "We
the People" (Greenwillow
Books/Harper Collins) and "A
Rumpus of Rhymes: A Book of
Noisy Poems" (Dutton).
Expression interviewed Bobbi
Katz in October 2001 after her
poetry workshop in Paris.
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1.SCBWI:
How did you start writing poetry?
Bobbi Katz: I never remember anyone reading
a children's book to me at home, but I was
lucky to be a kid when the radio brought wonderful
jazz right into our living room. I learned
the lyrics and danced to the tunes. If there
were tunes without words, I started making
up my own. Fats Waller was my familiar. Honeysuckle
Rose became my favorite flower. I had learned
to read when I saw that the letters on my
alphabet blocks were the same as the labels
on the cans, jars, and boxes in our kitchen
pantry. One of my earliest poems was "Ammonia,
begonia, who's gonna phone ya'/ Ammonia Begonia,
who will it be?/ It can't be Peaches cause
they're stuck in the can/ Maybe it's gonna
be the Tuna Fish Man/ The T-U-N-A TUNA Fish
Man." Playing with words is such fun!
I delight in using rhythms and rhyme now as
much as I did as a little kid.
2. SCBWI:
Who are your favorite poets?
B K: If
I had to choose an "onliest" children's
poet, I'd have to say Aileen Fisher. Her gentle
poems remain relevant to the lives of young
children — painting pictures, making
connections, pleasing the young ear with rhyme
and meter. Two of my favorite poets write
for both kids and grown-ups. They are Nancy
Willard and J. Patrick Lewis. Nancy's work
is wonderfully rich in sparkling images. She
reminds me of Yeats. Pat has such a grand
sense of humor, such ésprit. They are
accessible, unaffected, delicious and amazing.
3.
SCBWI: Is there a difference between writing
poetry for children and poetry for adults?
B K: The
only difference I see is the relevance of
the subject matter to the lives of the reader.
Naturally, adults have a much broader experience
and vocabulary than children. What grown-up
can see a field of sunflowers without thinking
of Van Gogh? The average child would not know
Van Gogh but could make other connections.
The poet who makes amazing and memorable comparisons
can touch listeners and readers and change
the way they see.
4.
SCBWI: Is there a particular poem or book
you've done that is especially important to
you?
BK: We
the People without a doubt. When John Kennedy
became the President, he challenged Americans
to ask ourselves what we could do for our
country. Although I've not been able to join
the Peace Corps, this book is my alternate
service. I hope this collection of poems speaks
to young American families and helps them
connect with each other and with their history.
5.
SCBWI: What are you working on now?
BK: My
main project for the past three years has
been a collection of first-person poems about
explorers. As with We the People, I do a lot
of research and hope that I can be the medium
for a voice. I've found it an extremely difficult
and challenging project. In my spare time
I've put together an anthology of very short
poems and as you know, one of them is by Sandra
Guy.
6.
SCBWI: Could you give us a poem?
BK: In the interest of brevity, I'll
quote one of my oldest poems. It was first
published in a magazine for cat owners and
I was paid $10.00. Then when Jack Prelutsky
was gathering short poems for Read Aloud Rhymes
for the Very Young, I sent it to him. That
exposure brought requests to use it on posters
and in textbooks. I figure this poem has paid
for two trips to Paris!
Cat Kisses
Sandpaper kisses
on a cheek or a chin,
that is the way
for a day to begin.
Sandpaper kisses,
a cuddle,
a purr.
I have an alarm clock
that's covered with fur.
Copyright c 1974 Bobbi Katz. All rights reserved.
SCBWI: What
opportunities are there for new/young poets?
BK: I'm technologically challenged,
but I'm quite sure there are internet publications
to which you could contribute. Or perhaps
some of you could even start an online poetry
magazine for kids. I know that the standard
advice is to get some publishing credits in
established magazines, but in this age of
editorial overload, I simply don't know it
it's true anymore. I've lost count of how
many books I've had published, but it still
is more common than not that I don't hear
back from editors in a timely way and I have
to chase after the people in charge of publicizing
my books. That said, I must give three cheers
for the extraordinary Library Marketing Department
at Harper Collins and my Greenwillow editor,
Virginia Duncan, who always gets back to me.
They are exceptional. I am also very impressed
with my editor at Harcourt, Jeanette Larson,
and though we've not met in person yet, I
have every confidence that Once Around the
Sun will be a beautiful book.
SCBWI: Any
tips for becoming a better writer?
BK: You
can build up your writing skills by writing
often. Here’s a tip. Look at anything:
a stone, a shoelace, a sea shell, your own
hand. Describe it as if you were painting
a still life. Then ask "what if…"
Let your imagination dance away! Try not to
edit the life out of every idea. I believe
in fecundity: allowing a cornucopia of images
and ideas to flow to the page. I try to leave
time for simmering and marinating before shaping,
controling, and reducing. |
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