Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 09:23:48 -0500 (EST)
To: kvander@scils.rutgers.edu
Subject: voice in kidlit
Kay,
I've been considering your point about voice, and wonder, when a white author attempts to write for a multicultural audience, is the voice sometimes a "false" one? (eg when kidlit has been criticised for being "tokenist", or even racist) Would this apply the other way round? The voice in Farrukh Dhondy's stories seems to have broken away from the white, middle class tone. What about the implied reader - eg I'm sure Enid Blyton had only her white audience in mind when she made Anne (in the Famous Five series) scream that the face she saw at the window must have been black because it frightened her (it wasn't). What do you think? I'm not sure whether you received my last e-mail - the internet is still a mystery to me!
Thanks,
[A female university student in England]
Date: Mon, 27 Aug 1956 13:25:37 +0000
To: kvander@scils.rutgers.edu
Subject: no subject
Kay Vandergrift,
Hi, I am a MA student in Children's Literature in Australia, in the final stages of a thesis on homosexuality in ya lit. At the present moment I am attempting to write on the concept of who should be writing, ie only homosexuals or anyone who is interested.
Do you know any articles or web-pages that may be relevant to this? I would appreciate it if you do could you please refer me to them.
With much thanks
[A female university student in Australia]
Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 20:29:07 -0500
From: "Kay E. Vandergrift" kvander@scils.rutgers.edu
Subject: Your request for information
I have sent you several email messages containing portions of the MLA data base search I did today. Hopefully some of the information may prove helpful to your research.
You raise a most interesting and controversial issue in your message. It seems to parallel the concerns raised by some critics on the ethnicity of the author. For instance, some critics believe that only an African-American can write accurately of that culture. On the other hand, some critics reject this view outright. Still others struggle to find a balance on this.
In the Foreward to Hearing Us Out: Voices from the Gay and Lesbian Community. Edited by Roger Sutton. Boston, MA: Little Brown, 1994, M.E. Kerr writes as follows:
"A psychologist, who was also the mother of a dwarf traveled to my home in the Hamptons to try and discover how I had come to write my book "Little Little," which is about a teenage dwarf.
"How do you know so much about the denial and intragroup prejudice and the rest?
"I told her that growing up homosexual in the late '30s and early '40s had given me all my insights.
"I had always been haunted by the story of this rich and beautiful young couple in a nearby small town, whose first child was a dwarf. But I had never found the "voice" for the main character, until one night I realized it was my own voice." p.viii
Actually the entire Foreward is useful to answer your question. If you do not have access to the book--let me know and I can send you a photocopy of the Kerr piece. The point is if what Kerr says is true then one must assume that the opposite is also true.
Kay
- Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 23:13:07 -0800
To: kvander@scils.rutgers.edu
Subject: need recommendations
I stumbled upon your wonderful site on the computer (I'm very new to the internet world) and was wondering if you might have a suggestion for a couple of books. The first I'm looking for deals with divorce. The problem is that most books describe the children living with their mother or going back and forth to each parent's house. This family needs to show the children living with the dad. The mom is out of the picture right now and most books they have don't represent their family structure. Needless to say, they are beginning to question their situation.
The second question I have is, can you recommend any books on doing reader's theater? My sister is a teacher for at-risk kids in a jr. high school. She is interested in anything that would reflect an african-american experience. These children get very little support for their future education and have been taught that they are already failures. She thinks readers theater might be a fun way to engage them. One problem she might encounter is their reading level. Any suggestions? Thank you,
To: kvander@scils.rutgers.edu
Date: Sat, 22 Mar 1997 09:43:41 MET+1
Subject: mahy margaret
i'm a student at the university of . . . ( Italy). I'd like to write my final thesis on Margaret Mahy. Could you help me to get any kind of information on her? ( books, critic or her E-mail address..) thanks
[ A university student in Italy]
Date: Sat, 22 Mar 1997 10:51:28 -0500
From: "Kay E. Vandergrift" kvander@scils.rutgers.edu
Subject: Re: mahy margaret
The best way to acquire books by Margaret Mahy is to use the search engine in the on-line bookstore Amazon Books. They do have an arrangement to pay by credit card so you can order directly.
The url is: http://www.amazon.com
I use this bookstore and have had excellent service and yes, they have my credit card numbers.
When you search you will be able to read details about each book they have and determine where it is published. or whether you wish a hardcovered edition or a paperback. There are also some audio cassettes available. Your major problem is that Mahy is from New Zealand and her books are published there and in Australia first and then in other countries although there may be simultaneous publication. Your second problem is that she writes picture books through young adult novels so the range of her work is quite large (over 60 books).
Now to your second request for criticism--this I will have to check--I'm sure that there is a great deal on her but I have no idea what you need. Could you send me some more specific information about your study? What is the focus of your research? Are you looking at something like her family relationships or her poetry or her mix of science and imagination?
Several of her books are quite popular in the US but others seem not have captured the readers. For instance, The Haunting won the Carnegie Medal in England and several awards here in the US. She has written series, school texts, and screenplays. There are audiotapes for some of her books. She gave the Arbuthnot Lecture in 1989 here in US and that would be helpful to read.
As to your third request: No, I do not have her email address. The best way to reach her is to write to her. The address listed in one of the directories is:
R.D. 1 Lyttelton, New Zealand This may still be her address.
There are six pages on her in a directory I have here--if you want a copy send me your snail mail address and I will photocopy it for you. This is basic biographical reference tool information but useful for a start. Let me know. Kay