Firstly, I apologize for the huge delay since I last wrote. The past few weeks have been very full with projects and other work, and I haven’t had much of a chance to stop and think, let alone stop and write. Several weeks ago, I talked about the picture book Of Thee I Sing, by Barack Obama and Loren Long, which highlights thirteen people whose stories have impacted the United States in various ways. I decided that it might be a helpful exercise to come up with a similar list of heroes, people who I don’t know, but whose examples and words have inspired and changed me. Last time, I talked about six of them, and now I’ll finally finish the list.
7.) Salman Rushdie:
I first discovered this writer as a freshman in high school, when we were assigned to read Haroun and the Sea of Stories. This remains one of my favorite books of all time, so much so that I will be presenting a paper on it at a conference in March. Rushdie has received numerous accolades and threats as a result of his writing, and for a while, had to live underground in Britain. His writing rings with his passion for free speech and his belief in the power of stories. He has an energy and excess of language that showcases the ability words have to breathe life into us.
8.) Amy Poehler:
Having never gotten into Saturday Night Live, I was introduced to this comedic actress only recently, but my opinion of her continues to rise. (The fact that my life is often frighteningly like that of her character on the show “Parks and Recreation” is entirely beside the point.) I find her very funny, and that’s usually enough to be liked in my book. But what I love most about her is that she is using her fame and talents for a cause outside herself. Last year, she and two of her friends started a series of webisodes called “Smart Girls at the Party,” which highlights talented girls who are, as the show’s tagline boasts, “changing the world by being themselves.” Poehler’s show celebrates individuality and intelligence, encouraging girls to resist the pressure to conform to peer pressure or societal norms. (Check out some episodes from the show at http://www.smartgirlsattheparty.com/video/video/listTagged?tag=episode)
9.) Frederick Buechner:
If Karl Barth (see previous letter) taught me about the simplicity of faith, this preacher-writer taught me about the subtleties of faith. I have liked everything of his that I’ve come across, but his Wishful Thinking, a theological alphabet book, is particularly stunning. He has a way of pairing mystery and the quotidian so that they both become more real and more sacred. His picture of Christianity leaves a lot of room for doubt, and he has taught me that doubt can be a healthy counterpoint to belief, and that their conversation comprises faith.
10.) Desmond Tutu:
This man was one of the main advocates for change during the Apartheid era in South Africa, and he remains an icon around the world for peace and justice. He exudes joy, and has a mischievous spirit. He is fearless in decrying injustice and yet remains humble, recognizing that any voice or authority he has comes from Outside himself.
11.) Eric Carle:
Eric Carle’s books have played a prominent role in my life since before I could read. Their bright colors and explanation of an underlying order in the natural world attracts children from across the globe. As I have gotten older and am studying picture books more systematically, I have become more and more impressed with his work. Beginning with his famous The Very Hungry Caterpillar, he has continually blurred the boundaries between books and toys, between science and story. Unlike some picture book creators, his primary audience is always the child.
12.) John Newton:
The story of this slave-trader turned abolitionist and hymn-writer is well known even in secular circles, but it remains one of the most powerful reminders to me that anyone can change, even if this change can take an entire lifetime to occur. It was over thirty years after Newton retired from the slave trade and over forty years after his conversion to Christianity that he began to speak out against slavery. I see the beautiful irony that “Amazing Grace” has a particular home in the African American spiritual tradition as proof that when God changes a person, the effects can resound throughout history. The final (and, I think, the most beautiful) verse of the hymn as we know it today was not written by Newton, but was adopted from an African American song: When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, than when we first begun. I suppose in light of eternity, thirty or forty years doesn’t seem quite so long.
13.) Tacky the Penguin:
There once lived a penguin. . . . His name was Tacky. Tacky was an odd bird. This book, written by Helen Lester and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger is my favorite picture book of all time. I love the pictures. I love the words. I love the story they both relate. I love reading it aloud to children. I even ended up using it for a theater audition in college. (I didn’t know I was supposed to have a piece prepared and it was the only thing I had memorized. I performed it with flair and vigor, I must say, and the director was duly impressed. The show was about suicide, however, and Tacky didn’t have quite the right tone. Needless to say, I didn’t get the part.) But as much as I denounce didacticism in children’s books, it is the moral of this book that I love the most: Only by being yourself, Tacky says, will you be able to help others.
And there you have it. Thirteen people who have changed me in one way or another. Who are your heroes?
Have a good week,
Sarah/Mouse
No comments:
Post a Comment