Author Jack Gantos jokes that most people who knew him growing up thought “he was going to specialize in rehabilitating old bookmobiles into housing for retired librarians.” Although he wanted to read and he wanted to write, he says it seemed no one wanted to teach him.
Instead, Gantos “retreated to an abandoned bookmobile” and later any corner he could find in a former state prison and read. And read. And read.
Since the publication of his first picture book, “Rotten Ralph,” in 1976, Gantos’ work has received a Newbery Award, Scott O’Dell Award, Newbery Honor, Printz Honor, Sibert Honor, National Book Award Finalist honor, and he is the 2010 recipient of the National Council of Teachers of English/Assembly on Literature for Adolescents Award for his contribution to the field of young adult and children’s literature.
His most recent novel, “Dead End in Norvelt,” received both the 2012 John Newbery Award and the Scott O’Dell Award for Historic Fiction. The companion novel, “From Norvelt to Nowhere,” will be released Sept. 24.
But before that, Gantos will headline True Lit: Fayetteville’s Literary Festival, an expansion of the Fayetteville Public Library’s Ozark Writers Live!, scheduled for Thursday through Sunday.
Most events take place at the Fayetteville Public Library.
“From the first meeting in August 2012 we discovered all the partners (Fayetteville Public Library, Fayetteville Public Schools, Fayetteville Public Education Foundation, and the University of Arkansas and College of Education and Health Professions) shared a similar goal,” said Lolly Greenwood, director of youth services at Fayetteville Public Library and event organizer. “We were all conducting separate literary events throughout the year, and the idea of literary festival helped create a synergy to bring them all together to ignite a love of literature.”
Last week, Gantos answered five questions for NWA Media by email.
Q. Do you do a lot of literacy festivals somewhat like this?
A. I do a fair amount of public speaking in schools, universities and at literacy and literary events. I have a teaching background in literature and creative writing and so it comes pretty naturally to me to speak to like-minded people - bookish people.
Q. What do you hope to give/share/inspire/make happen at this sort of appearance?
A. There are a range of goals. With students, my focus is on encouraging them to read books that inspire their writing. And with their writing the focus is on combining good content with well-formed structure.
When it comes to the content I like them to focus on their own experiences and write about what they know about - both in the outside world around them, and the interior life of the mind and emotions which are very rich in young writers.
With teachers, my goal is to give them a handson set of start-up writing tools that they can use in the classroom with success - tools that focus on content and structure so that they can get their students started, get a good first draft, provide approaches to writing three or four solid drafts with specific purpose (physical details, story continuity, emotional depth, beautifying the imagery, weeding out all the dead words), so that both the teacher and the students find real value in refining these language skills and with completing meaningful stories or poems or plays.
With parents, I talk about everything. But what I hope to achieve is that children’s literature (which covers primary, upper elementary, middle school and young adult) is full of pleasure, and that the writing is artful and powerful and fulfilling and that the deeper they go into it the more they too will share the bond of literacy and fine literature with their children, and within themselves.
Q. Is there someone you credit with inspiring you?
A. I was a library kid.
Now I’m an older library kid. (I’m writing this in the library - where I’ve written about 40 books).
Librarians were very much the focus of my school life growing up. I went in early and helped sort and shelve books. I stayed after school to help out. At home, my parents were readers, and so it was normal to see my mother or father with a magazine, newspaper or book. My sister was a brilliant reader and probably had the best literary taste in the house. I tried to keep up with her (which was impossible). She was sharp.
Q. Is reading a dying art? If so, how do we change that?
A. Reading is not a dying art. Quite the opposite.
People read more than ever before. There is just a lot of carping about “kids today” and how they don’t read.
When I was in sixth grade I remember teachers and parents saying the same thing - and that was about four decades ago. The average child reads far more than the average adult. You have to understand that 50 percent of the homes in America don’t have any books inside them - and that includes cookbooks and how-to and self-help books, which pretty much means that 50 percent of adults don’t read one book per year. If the adults don’t read, then chances are the kids don’t find the love of reading.
I enjoy going to real estate open houses. Start going to a lot of them and look around for the books as you walk from one bookless room to another.
It’s dismal. Clearly, parents model out reading behavior for their children.
Q. Does it matter whether kids read books or Kindles?
A. It doesn’t matter one bit. Remember, the book only blossoms once it’s animated inside the reader’s mind.
Q. What do you read?
A. Everything. I go to the library at least 200 days per year. There is never enough time to read - so I read what I love. I read for pleasure. I read to be inspired by greatness.
GO & DO True Lit Schedule (All events take place at the Fayetteville Public Library unless otherwise noted) Thursday 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. - Molly Giles Writing Class Noon-2 p.m. - Young Writers With Jack Gantos 7 p.m. - Storytelling Arkansas With Jules Taylor and Shannon Wurst 8 p.m. - Bryan Borland Poetry Reading at Nightbird Books Friday 8:30-11:30 a.m. - Blair Lecture Series with Jack Gantos at Fayetteville High School 9 a.m.-noon - Bryan Borland Poetry Writing Class All day - University of Arkansas Literacy Symposium: “Common Core Standards: Nonfiction Reading and Writing” with Jack Gantos, Doug Hesse and Clara McClafferty, Fayetteville Town Center. Register at http:// cied.uark.edu/11812.php.
5:30 p.m. - Friends of the Library True Lit author reception 7 p.m. - An Evening With Jack Gantos Saturday 9:30 a.m. - Mystery Panel with Anna Loan Wilsey 10:30 a.m. - Barbara Youree 10:30 a.m. - Book Character Parade from Fayetteville square to library 11:30 a.m. - Clara McClafferty 11:30 a.m. - Family concert with 3 Penny Acre 12:30 p.m. - Janis Kearney 1:30 p.m. - Kevin Brockmeier 1:30 p.m. - Youth Writing Workshop 2:30 p.m. - Anthony Priest 3 p.m. - Teen Writing Workshop 3:30 p.m. - Kat Robinson Sept. 8 1 p.m. - Literary Celebration and Reception 3 p.m. - Calle Soul Band Source: truelitfest.com
Northwest Profile, Pages 39 on 09/01/2013