readers and writers – and how they get to be that way

Scratch any writer, and you’re likely to find evidence of a great former teacher.  For me, the first was Viola Sliwa.  She got me through fourth grade by feeding me a steady stream of books, and by constantly and enthusiastically encouraging my writing.  (She told me I couldn’t start a sentence with and or but until I was a published author, but that after I cleared that hurdle I could do whatever the hell I wanted to with the language.  It was pretty heady stuff.)  Some writers will swear they were headed toward jail or the grave if they hadn’t been mentored by an older teacher.  And often the bond is really simple:  one person who loves to read shares that love with another person, a budding reader and writer.

Come to think of it, it’s a little like the flu – but without the fever and cough.

I got involved with a local mentoring program here in Taos some years ago.  It’s sponsored by SOMOS, the local literary organization, and it’s a wonderful thing.  This year, I’m mentoring a promising young writer named Sarah Pyatt.  I opened my email this morning to find a spectacular message from Sarah, an eighth grader:

I just Finished The book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! about 5 minutes ago!!!!! I can’t believe it! It’s 122 pages long!

 

Way to go, Sarah!  This is a kid who would have written this novel even if she’d never met me, but I can’t help feeling proud to be a part of her accomplishment.

Hats off to Robert Wilder, too, an outrageously funny writer who takes his teaching with the greatest seriousness.  Rob was just awarded a 2009 Innovation in Reading Prize from the National Book Foundation – a prestigious honor rarely bestowed on individuals.  Here’s what Rob says about teaching and reading:

 

Like many other teachers and writers, I try to find myriad ways to get good books into other people’s hands. Whether it’s a kindergartner struggling over his first sentence, a high school student trying to find her voice in the wilderness of adolescence, or an intellectually starved friend at a dinner party, books are my gesture toward a better life for anyone willing to turn some pages. Reading provides a sustained relationship with our minds and the minds of countless writers trying to pursue thoughts and ideas, beauty and humanity. Winning the Innovations in Reading Prize is a great honor and will give me the energy to keep fighting the good fight. 

 

It’s a week of congratulations.  Kathy’s and my son Yohta Namba just graduated from the California College of the Arts, and we made the trek to San Francisco to celebrate with him.  Way to go, kid!

Yohta was lucky to have some great teachers along the way, too.  One of them, Jen Hull, is a gifted educator who is herself a talented writer.  She writes an often funny, always insightful blog at www.citymouseandcountrymouse.com, and her most recent post profiles me.  I’m honored and humbled and secretly (well, not so secretly now, I suppose) pleased to be described as moving like a “gangling and shy high school basketball player”.

I can’t wait to read Sarah’s novel.  It’s a good time for new starts, with the lilacs blooming like crazy.

Happy springtime.

 

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