A NY Times Documentary on Malala Yousafzai who was shot by the Taliban for her views on education, human rights, life and living. She is still in hospital. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbSO2akmKtM]
International Day of the Girl at Loreto Beaufort
Today, 11th October, the first ever International Day of the Girl and the focus this year is on child marriage. I got to spend some of the day with Loreto Beaufort in Dublin with 100 First Years. What a treat that was. They were interested, asked loads of questions and were, one and all, perfectly charming and courteous. A big thank you to the librarian Joan for organising this and I look forward to getting feedback from some of the girls who have read the book. It seems like a great school - in this week alone they have a focus on D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read) time, on Harry Potter and the Loreto School in Rumbek Sudan.
International Day of the Girl
A video just released ahead of the International Day of the Girl on October 11th. The campaign, Girls Not Brides, is using this day to focus world attention on the issue of child marriage. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nMoDaoY4EzE&utm_source=Girls+Not+Brides+Supporters+Newsletter+English&utm_campaign=e30d38173a-Day_of_the_Girl_Bulletin_to_supporters10_5_2012&utm_medium=email]
And more libraries
This week I have been to a number of the libraries in Kildare and a couple of the schools - and have once again been struck by their value. For example while I was with a group of schoolchildren in one part of Newbridge Library a group from a nearby Nursing Home were in another room watching movies. And as I left Celbridge Library a Patchwork and Knitting Group arrive to occupy the room I had just left. During the past few days I have travelled from a library in a small church (Castledermot) to a state of the art library (Leixslip) to a library located in the beautiful old Town hall (Athy) to one that shares a building with a Spar (Kildare) and another that is in an the Main Street of Maynooth and looks tiny form the outside but opens up into a wonderful space with a garden to the back of it.
In each one of these libraries there are hard working, interested and creative librarians. What a resource!
And a word too about the children I have come across. Again, a wide variety of groups - numbering from twenty five up to ninety (which was an alarming thought, but they were great!) and from Fourth Class up to Sixth. What has impressed me so far is the ease with which they ask questions, the interest they show not only in my book but in reading, in Africa and in things outside their own world. I've been enjoying it - and next week to Meath and then to Dublin and then back to Kildare - ending up finally, on the 24th of October, in my home county of Kilkenny where I'll be visiting Graiguenamanagh and Thomastown.
Library visits October
Children's Book Festival Month is about to start - and this year I am doing the rounds of some of the libraries, courtesy of among others the Kildare County Council, Meath County Council and Kilkenny County Council. I think in total I will visit 18 libraries and two schools! What is good about these visits, for me, is that each group of children you get is different. They have different questions, different concerns and different interests - so you never have time to get bored. It is also very useful as a writer to engage with so many different readers because it helps you to see what's working and what's not, what amuses or frustrates them.
I have written previously about the librarians in Ireland and the work they do, but will just reiterate that - each different library I have visited has struck me as being so much more than a library. They have become community centres, places for reading, learning and meeting up. Parent and child groups, pensioners learning IT skills, homework places, cultural groups - and still, above all, a place to read and choose books. We are absolutely privileged here to have access to these places and should treasure them.
An author with opinions - on writing and storytelling
I don't often re-post things in their entirety but want to post this - as I think it says such a lot about writing and it says it so elegantly. It comes from Tom O'Neill's blog on his book Old Friends - take a look
Disturbing fiction
2012
An author has to keep an eye on the reader as the storyteller always did, just with the disadvantage of being a step removed.
You have to keep an eye on them because you have a job to do for them. You have to amuse them and keep them amused. That’s all.
Luckily, there are various ways in which you can do this. Like every storyteller understood, you must always have characters more interesting than anyone present and you must have disturbing things happening to them. You should have excitement, treachery, loyalty, loss and if at all possible, revenge. You have to have a laugh with the characters and another one at them. You should have layers of hidden story for the more alert reader to dig up.
There must always be love. Nothing moves without it. Every good story is embedded in it, even where it is never spoken, even where it is contorted.
And of course you should disrupt the reader’s afternoon.
I hope Old Friends amused you.
Writing for Children, Writing for Adults and Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Have been thinking about this as I am doing both - sometimes concurrently. When I started writing The Butterfly Heart I did not have in mind a target audience, it was just a story I wanted to write. It was when I came to my characters that I realised this could be a story that children would read. I am happy however that both children and adults have read it.
I think there are different freedoms in writing for different audiences - I definitely find myself freer in language use when I am writing books specifically geared to an adult audience, I do not check myself as often. The only question I would be asking myself is whether the language I have used is the best it can be.
I would ask myself a similar question when writing for children - but added onto that would be whether it would allow for easy pleasure in its readers. There is a different freedom I find in writing for children - not sure what to call it other than flights of fancy, a freedom of imagination. Maybe I should feel that freedom in writing for adults, and I do to a certain extent, but more so with children.
One of the greatest writers ever (to my mind) is Gabriel Garcia Marquez - and I have only ever read him in translation. He combines everything in one - beautiful use of language, wondrous flights of fancy and great storytelling. There is no one writing now who comes close to him in the way he blends magic and reality, who so seamlessly takes you into a world that is real but which shimmers with a sense of unreality. Can you just imagine what it would be like to read him in Spanish?
For me he has all the freedoms combined in writing for children and adults - a freedom with language and imagination combined with a powerful storytelling ability - that ability which is at the core of any good book.
His titles alone are wondrous - has there ever been a better title than One Hundred Years of Solitude? Love in the time of Cholera? Chronicle of a Death Foretold? Memories of my Melancholy Whores? Strange Pilgrims? I'll stop now - but can you imagine the fun that illustrators have had with designing those covers?
Here are just a few of them for One Hundred Years of Sol
itude.
Dubray Books Kilkenny
I have written and spoken before on the number of great bookshops we are privileged to have in Kilkenny - The Book Centre, Stonehouse Books, Dubray Books and Khan's. More recently Easons have opened a small branch as well. Imagine living in a city with a population of around 24,000 and being surrounded by that many wonderful bookshops? Each one of them staffed by people who are enthusiastic, helpful and incredibly supportive of both readers and writers.
One of them, Dubray Books, is hosting an evening tomorrow night (17th August) celebrating local talent as part of Arts Week here in Kilkenny. Both Tom O'Neill and myself will be there. Looking forward to it. Excuse the bad photo!
The Wondrous Baobab
Last week I was in the home of a great gardener from Ballon, Co. Carlow (Stasia O'Neill, who happens to be Tom O'Neill's mum!) and lying on the kitchen table I saw the book The Remarkable Baobab by Thomas Pakenham. A book entirely dedicated to my favourite tree - and, coincidentally, a tree that is central to the sequel to The Butterfly Heart).
Thomas Pakenham said in the intro to his book Remarkable Trees of the World that after meeting an elephantine Baobab in South Africa it took the self control of a monk not to allow the whole book to be dominated by this tree. He let his self control go in 2004 when this book was published. I do not know how I missed it, but thank you Stasia for introducing me to it.
It is not, and nor does it pretend to be, a botanical textbook. It is a collection of photographs, stories and personal recollections of these trees in Madagascar, Africa, Australia and the Caribbean. The trees arrived in the Caribbean (as did many of the inhabitants) in the slave ships. The slaves themselves carried emergency rations in small pouches - among these were the tasty seeds of the Baobab pod.
One gripe with the book. He says in the introduction that 'The African baobab was the first to be discovered' and later says 'The 21 years old French explorer and naturalist who discovered it, Michel Adanson...'
No. This is not so. The tree may be named after Adanson (all eight species have the prefix Adansonia) but this tree was well known by people who lived in Africa and Madagascar for many centuries prior to Adanson's visit in 1749. So, discovered is incorrect Mr. Pakenham.
Notwithstanding this, anyone out there who loves trees (and who doesn't?) should get themselves a copy of the book. I got mine on Amazon for tw0 quid!
Nicci French at the West Cork Literary Festival
One of the other events I attended during the West Cork Literary festival was a talk by Nicci Gerard and Sean French who together are the crime/thriller/mystery writer Nicci French. It was fascinating to learn how they do what they do - and how Nicci French is almost a third person in their writing relationship. Their writing process involves a lot of trust in each other - one of them writes a chapter then emails it on to the other. The other has free rein to do with their work what they will - and then proceeds to write the second chapter. And so it goes on.
You would be hard put to identify which person has written which chapter - probably because they have both become so used to writing as Nicci French, rather than as themselves. Each one of them continues to write independently.
They must have enjoyed thinking up the title of this particular book!
Noo Saro Wiwa Looking for Transwonderland
I was privileged to sit in on Noo Saro Wiwa's session at the West Cork Literary Festival last week. She was there to speak about her book Looking for Transwonderland Travels in Nigeria.
I can only imagine that every person who listened to her not only went out to buy her book, but experienced the same urge my daughter did once the talk had finished. Her exact words, 'I'd love to go to Nigeria.'
Noo spoke of the Ministry of Fire and Miracles in Prayer City, of how she was still unable to find the words to describe Lagos, of Sugar Mummys and of her unwillingness to admit to her extended family that she no longer attended church. She spoke of her father, Ken Saro Wiwa, a man admired way beyond the borders of his home country. She spoke of her growing love of the country that she had in many ways distanced herself from. I could have sat and listened to her way beyond the allocated hour, and am longing to read the book once my daughter has finished it!
Next post will be on Nicci French, I was delighted to be able to attend their session late on Friday night...
West Cork Literary Festival 2012
I was privileged this year to be invited down to participate in the West Cork Literary Festival in Bantry, and today and yesterday I gave workshops to a group of children aged 5-7 (well, in the end, more like 4 - 10!) which was certainly a challenge. But a good one. It is a beautiful part of the country and a great festival - a big thankyou to Denyse Woods for inviting me (and to Sue Leonard for recommending me!) I enjoyed working with children younger than those I am used to and it has resulted in a rhyming story that I wrote for the group. Unpolished but still a story!
Will post more about the different events, but in the meantime here's a picture of Cape Clear island.
Scoil San Carlo in Leixslip
Yesterday I visited Miss Sirr's Sixth Class in Scoil San Carlo in Leixslip. It was this class which reviewed The Butterfly Heart for the CBI Awards in May and the review was presented by Amy, Lexi and Laura. It was lovely to meet with them all, to hear their questions and comments on the book and to listen to them sing! So, a big thank you to Miss Sirr and Miss Convery for inviting me and to the students for making the day such a pleasure. The more primary schools I visit the more I admire the work being done by primary school teachers in Ireland - a lot of energy and commitment amongst the teachers I have come across.
16th June and Hector Pieterson
Different dates to different people. Bloomsday in Dublin, commemorating the genius of James Joyce.
Youth Day in South Africa commemorating the deaths of hundreds of school students at the hand of the South Africa Police in 1976.
I can never remember the day as anything else.
It is a day that has come to be symbolised by the photograph of Hector Pieterson, one of the first children shot and killed by the Apartheid government on that day. It was taken by Sam Nzima, a photographer at The World newspaper, as Hector was picked up by Mbuyisa Makhubo, a fellow student, who ran with him towards the Phefeni Clinic, with Pieterson's crying sister Antoinette running alongside.
Hastings Ndlovu, a fifteen year old student, was one of those shot that day. It is believed he was the first of the children to be shot - his name however remains unknown as there was no photographer at hand. Many more young people were killed, that day and in the days following and it would be true to say that this day changed the course of history in SA.
A Hector Pieterson museum has been established in Soweto and Antoinette, Hector's sister, works there as a tour guide.
Hector Pieterson was in fact born Hector Pitso, and in some ways the change of name by his family says as much about Apartheid as does his death. They changed it to a name which could pass muster as a 'coloured' name - a term given to people in SA of varying heritages. People whose opportunities, while severely restricted, were slightly better than those people classified 'black.' Under Apartheid, where your racial category was everything, there were constantly people looking for reclassification.
A lot has been written about the notorious 'Pencil Test' - a test carried out by government officials on those who wished to be classified as 'white'. The test went something like this: a pencil was inserted into the hair of the person wishing to be reclassified - if it fell to the floor, 'white' classification was granted, if it stayed in place, 'coloured' classification remained. There were further layers in the test - if someone, like the Pitso's for example, wished to be reclassified as 'coloured' from 'black' the same pencil would be inserted and the person had to then shake their head. If the pencil stayed in, no reclassification!
A sick and dehumanising society.
Here below is an artistic rendition of it entiteld Ukuguqula lbatyi (the pencil test) by Kemang Wa Lehulere, an artist living in Johannesburg.
Forced Marriage Legislation
I see today in the Guardian and Independent there is an ongoing debate about government plans in Britain to introduce legislation which would criminalise the act of forcing another person into marriage. Australia too is at the moment introducing similar legislation in a bundle of laws dealing with forced marriage, slavery within the sex industry and organ trafficking. In Britain the situation is such that forced marriage is prohibited in Scotland but the practice of making someone marry against their will is not currently illegal in England and Wales. Although there are “Forced Marriage Orders”. These are restraining orders against a family and allow police e.g. to confiscate the victim's passport so that they cannot be taken out of the country for the purposes of marriage.
There are many issues here:
- Whether the introduction of these laws will first and foremost protect the victims by acting as a deterrent to parents who impose this on their children;
- Or whether it will drive the issue underground as some commentators are suggesting;
- Whether or not this crime, for surely it is a crime of the first order, is in fact already covered by laws relating to Abduction, Rape, Coercion, Kidnapping and the like;
- There is no doubt that this is a reality for many - last year in Britain the police dealt with approximately 1600 cases of forced marriage. Surveys suggest that the numbers are a lot higher, with estimates as high as 6000.
I am not decided yet on the issue - my instinct would be that those girls and boys forced into marriage need every possible protection, and that legislation is surely one of those that is needed. But the question needs to be asked as to whether this legislation will help to break down the wall of silence behind which these horrendous acts take place, or if it will only increase its height?
Sameem Ali. now a Labour Party Councillor and a victim of forced marriage herself at age 13, says it will force the issue underground. She says, "But the legislation will make victims of forced marriage point the finger at their own parents. What young person is going to want to do that? To say those things about their own mum and dad, who they love.'
IN other European countries however where this has been criminalised there seem to have been positive effects: 'Since Denmark criminalised forced marriage in 2008, a Copenhagen-based organisation, LOKKreported an increase in young people coming forward. Other grass root organisations in countries which have criminalised forced marriage have seen a 50% increase in the reporting of forced marriage.' (The Independent)
'Stuff your eyes with wonder' Ray Bradbury.
Today I learnt that Ray Bradbury has died. What a life he lived and what stories he wrote! There are a thousand quotes you could quote, from his stories, his talks and his musings - but here's one that for me tells just a bit about how he thought and lived his life. 'Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.'
Scoil San Carlo - Ten out of Ten
Pupils from Scoil San Carlo in Leixlip reviewed my book at the Awards Ceremony and they used an interesting format of a Q and A session. I asked them for a copy of the review and here it is. I was delighted with the review as it appeared to me to be an honest review and from the sound of it the class enjoyed reading the book. I love the fact that the book made Lexi want to visit Zambia one day. Their teacher is Ms. Geraldine Covery - congratulations to her and her whole class for the presentation on the day, they did a great job, I'd give them 10 out of 10 for it! I hope to get to visit them in the near future.
Dear Paula, this is Laura, Lexi and Amy
We are sending you our review .We are really glad you wanted to have a copy of what we said. We were delighted you came over to us straight away when the break started, and we are thrilled you won the Eilís Dillon Award. Please type/ write back.
(Laura Asks) What is this book about?
(Amy Answers) This book is about a twelve-year-old girl named Winifred who is being forced into marriage at a young age, to a man that is old enough to be her father. Her friends Bulboo, Madillo and Fred try to help her but nothing can be done, so they seek help from Ifwafwa, the snake man.
(Laura Asks) Where the characters believable?
(Lexi Answers) In my opinion, most characters are realistic. Winifred and Bulboo are very believable as they act as normal teenage girls should. Ifwafwa and the great-granny aren’t believable, for me, because I don’t believe a man can get snakes into his bag by humming a specific tune. I also don’t believe in physic powers.
Do you like the design and layout of the book and why do you think it is called ‘The butterfly heart’?
(Amy Answers) I like the cover of the book, as it doesn’t give away anything of the book. The font of the title stands out against all the illustrations in the background. The illustrations at the start of each chapter convey who the point of view in the story is coming from. I think it is cool how when Bulboo is talking it has a butterfly symbol, when Winifred is talking it is like a zig- zag symbol and when Ifwafwa is talking it is a snake symbol.
(Lexi Answers) I think it is called ‘The Butterfly Heart’ because the setting is in Zambia, and Zambia is in a shape of a butterfly. Zambia is known as the heart of Africa. I was so intrigued by the book that when I’m older I’d LOVE to visit Zambia.
Is there any part of the book that stood out for you?
(Amy Answers) My favourite part is when sister Lionisa tells the children about “Mad The Bad” –read out part- (pg. 196)
I really liked this part, as it was just funny. It had our whole class laughing. The way sister Lionisa explains it, I imagine her having a perfectly straight face while saying it. This part happens after Winifred’s life is back to normal, when she starts smiling again.
(Lexi Answers) My favourite part of the book is when Sister Lionisa tells the children about the tapeworm. She told them ‘Once the tapeworm has entered your body, it is nothing more than a small egg. But it quickly grows and all it does, afterwards, is eat. The way you get the tapeworm out of your body is you starve it. You mustn’t eat anything for three days. After the three days have past you pour milk into a saucer and sit somewhere comfortable. You hold the saucer in front of your mouth. When you feel a movement in your stomach it means it is coming towards your mouth. When you see it licking the milk out of the saucer, you pull it put. But you mustn’t bite it because if you do the tail will fall back into your stomach and grown another head. Once it is out of your mouth you stamp on it until you are sure it is dead.’ I like this part because when I was reading this part, it made me want to be in Sister Lionisa’s class and listen to her crazy stories.
Who is your favourite character?
(Amy Answers) My favourite character is Bulboo, as she believes in Ifwafwa. She has faith in him and she knows he can do it. She was right in the end, He sorted it out. Her twin sister- Madillo- Is nothing like her. Bulboo, as I imagine her, is a very friendly girl. If she was a real person I would like to be friends with her. I imagine her having long brown hair, I don’t know why, I just do. She was really concerned when Winifred stopped putting up her hand, it’s the little things that friends notice.
What would you rate the book out of ten?
(Lexi Answers) I would rate it ten out of ten because this book has a lot of imagination and is very creative. When Winifred was telling us how she was feeling, I could feel everything she was feeling.
(Amy Answers) The story was very well written, it was different and it stayed with me, even after the last page. It was straightforward and you just kept on wanting to read it. I loved this book! 10/10
Ms. Mackey's Fifth Class and €1,000 !
Yesterday I received this letter from Ms. Orla Mackey's class at St. John's in Kilkenny (Orla of Teaching Notes fame..!) They gave me permission to reproduce it. Today I visited the school to show them the trophy and collect the wonderful cardboard paintings they did, and then I visited all the classes which was great. Thank you St. John's for all your effort on the book.
Dear Paula,
We all had our fingers crossed for you. We couldn't wait to hear the results of the Bisto Book Awards. We had the CBI webpage open all day expecting to see your name. We are delighted that you won a trophy and 1,000e. We spent some time dreaming about what we might do with that money if we were lucky enough to win it. Here are a few suggestions as to how you might invest your winnings - Niall says you should buy a chocolate river, Lucy suggests buying all the Oreos you can afford, Szymon thinks you should consider opening a sweet shop, Krystian would buy lots of astronomy books if he were you, Jamie would buy pens and paper, Conor would buy soccer balls and a Liverpool kit, Liam would buy a monster truck, Ben would go to Euro 2012, Kate Marie would buy a ticket to the Olympics, Joanna would buy a house in Dunmore East, Gavin would go on holidays to Italy, Alicia would have her garden landscaped, Aaron would buy a laptop, Jody would buy a horse, Jordan would take a trip to America, Rebecca would help poor people in Africa, Jennifer would go on a trip around the world, Denise would save it for a rainy day, Success would buy a chocolate cake making machine, Maríosa would buy her own computer, Cillian would buy a chocolate factory, Shane would buy lots of dogs, Zoe would go on holidays, Hamedah would buy art materials.
We hope you have fun with your prize money and we all agree that you should be very proud of the award. We know that you are coming to collect the cardboard paintings we made of 'The Butterfly Heart' characters and we would love if you brought along your trophy so that we might see it. We know that you are very busy, so whenever you get time is fine with us.
Congratulations! Ms Mackey's 5th Class
CBI Eilis Dillon Award 2012
Absolutely thrilled to have won the Eilis Dillon award for a First Children's Book at the CBI Book Awards . Just to say I am delighted. A great honour for the Butterfly Heart, for me and, I think, for Zambia. Here is a pic of the certificate and the lovely trophy (which one of my daughters reckons would make a good weapon....?) Mega thanks to everyone - especially my extended family!
One Life lost every twenty seconds....
I came across Barefoot Power who were in the news for being one of the finalists for this year's Ashden Awards. They are a social enterprise and their focus is solar power - what better continent to be on for this than Africa? They produce small individual desk lights (a boon for homework!) up to entire kits for clinics or schools or similar.
On their website they have a 'Why we do what we do' section where they deal with the issues around kerosene. I am reproducing this below as the sheer scale of the statistics is horrifying.
Over US$10 billion is spent each year on kerosene for lighting in the homes of people in developing countries. The light cast from a kerosene lamp is poorly distributed, has a low intensity and is expensive. The poor lighting levels from kerosene lamps makes it difficult for children to study, affecting literacy and education, and minimizes the effective working hours for income generating activities. The open flame, smoke and soot from kerosene lamps endanger lives by reducing indoor air quality and increasing the likelihood of fire.
The negative impacts of energy poverty are sobering.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) report that there are over 300,000 deaths every year from burns, the vast majority of these occur in low and middle income countries.
- Nearly 4 million women suffer from severe burns from open fires and kerosene lighting each year: similar to the number who are diagnosed with AIDS each year.
- More children die from fire related injuries than fatalities from tuberculosis or malaria.
- Those using this consume the equivalent of two packs of cigarettes per day of smoke from indoor air pollution, resulting in chronic respiratory and eye diseases.
- The United Nations Development Program and the WHO report that 1.6 million deaths per year in developing countries are caused by the indoor air pollution attributed to traditional fuels – that’s one life lost every 20 seconds.
