Mitali Perkins's Blog, page 30
October 12, 2011
2011 Fire Escape Poetry Contest: Third Prize
Playing Between Two Worlds
by Jingyi China/MD, age 15
The girl delicately plucks the strings of the zither
creating a rich and harmonious music that no one else can seem to understand.
Music flows out, soft and graceful against the backdrop of run down apartments;
with trinkets strewn about on the hard pavement sidewalks, vying for attention.
The music becomes louder and more demanding
as cars zoom thoughtlessly across the tumbling streets, thinking not of lights nor people.
Everything is shaded with hues of brilliant red and sunlight yellow
reminding people of glory, pride and trust.
The music continues, with tired bodies walking
home against a brilliant fading street, dim and worn down, holding bags
upon heavy bags of groceries barely tumbling out.
The girl smiles, nonchalant and undaunted, not afraid;
bravely playing alongside the border of two very different worlds.
Photo Credit: Clyde Robinson via Creative Commons
Jingyi on Life Between Cultures:
The hardest thing about
balancing two cultures is being dedicated to both. Sometimes, it's
impossible because cultures are often completely different and
independent of each other. The best thing about being a part of two
cultures is the different types of food you get to eat and the fact that
you fit in with two completely different groups of people.Come visit me on the Fire Escape!
by Jingyi China/MD, age 15
The girl delicately plucks the strings of the zither
creating a rich and harmonious music that no one else can seem to understand.
Music flows out, soft and graceful against the backdrop of run down apartments;
with trinkets strewn about on the hard pavement sidewalks, vying for attention.
The music becomes louder and more demanding
as cars zoom thoughtlessly across the tumbling streets, thinking not of lights nor people.
Everything is shaded with hues of brilliant red and sunlight yellow
reminding people of glory, pride and trust.
The music continues, with tired bodies walking
home against a brilliant fading street, dim and worn down, holding bags
upon heavy bags of groceries barely tumbling out.
The girl smiles, nonchalant and undaunted, not afraid;
bravely playing alongside the border of two very different worlds.
Photo Credit: Clyde Robinson via Creative Commons
Jingyi on Life Between Cultures:
The hardest thing about
balancing two cultures is being dedicated to both. Sometimes, it's
impossible because cultures are often completely different and
independent of each other. The best thing about being a part of two
cultures is the different types of food you get to eat and the fact that
you fit in with two completely different groups of people.Come visit me on the Fire Escape!
October 5, 2011
MONSOON SUMMER: The Musical
In August, thanks to
First Book
, the
Kaufman Center
in New York City adapted my novel
Monsoon Summer
into a musical. Here's the gorgeous cast:
The composer/songwriter, Beth Sorrentino , sent me a demo of herself (listen above) singing "Monsoon Summer," which was sung as the finale by the entire cast in (her words) "a full-out Bollywood number." The Center is going to send me a DVD of the show, and I can't wait to see it and hear the kids singing this and the other beautiful songs Beth created for the musical.Come visit me on the Fire Escape!
The composer/songwriter, Beth Sorrentino , sent me a demo of herself (listen above) singing "Monsoon Summer," which was sung as the finale by the entire cast in (her words) "a full-out Bollywood number." The Center is going to send me a DVD of the show, and I can't wait to see it and hear the kids singing this and the other beautiful songs Beth created for the musical.Come visit me on the Fire Escape!
October 4, 2011
October 3, 2011
Which Cover Has The Bollywood Vibe?
(One was released in the US, and one is releasing this month in India.)Come visit me on the Fire Escape!
September 30, 2011
A Teenager's Benediction
I had the pleasure of addressing an assembly at
Ramona Convent Secondary School
this week in Alhambra, California. Natalie, a senior, stood up after my talk and issued this encouraging charge:
Photos courtesy of Valerie M.Come visit me on the Fire Escape!
It is with great gratitude, Mrs. Perkins, that I say thank you for your time and interest in our school community. May you continue to write and inspire young minds for many years to come.That's my hope, too, Natalie. From your mouth to God's ear.
Photos courtesy of Valerie M.Come visit me on the Fire Escape!
September 28, 2011
You're Invited To A Highlights Founders Workshop
Creating an Authentic Cultural Voice
Putting imagination, experience, empathy, and research to work
Children's literature celebrates both our shared history and our unique cultures. Join Donna Jo Napoli (Bound) and Mitali Perkins (Bamboo People) as they help us understand the power of writing with a strong cultural voice. Through impeccable research, imagination, empathy, and experience, a true cultural voice can be achieved. Our goal at Highlights is to gather a community of open-minded children's book authors April 26-29, 2012 who wish to think deeply about:
Who has the right to write multiculturally?
How do we bring humility to our research?
What audience are we writing for?
Does the term "multicultural literature" match the needs of today's book market?
How is authentic cultural voice achieved?
This workshop also includes one-on-one manuscript critiques and author-guided writing exercises.
Read More
Workshop Leaders
[image error]
Mitali Perkins
Mitali was born in Kolkata, India, and immigrated at age seven to the United States with her family. Her award-winning books for young readers include Bamboo People, Monsoon Summer, Rickshaw Girl, Secret Keeper, and the First Daughter books.
Read More
[image error]
Donna Jo Napoli
Donna Jo Napoli is an award-winning writer of children's fiction, from picture books to young adult novels. She's won the Golden Kite, the
Sydney Taylor, the NJ Reading Association, and the Kentucky Bluegrass awards.
Read More
Come visit me on the Fire Escape!
Putting imagination, experience, empathy, and research to work
Children's literature celebrates both our shared history and our unique cultures. Join Donna Jo Napoli (Bound) and Mitali Perkins (Bamboo People) as they help us understand the power of writing with a strong cultural voice. Through impeccable research, imagination, empathy, and experience, a true cultural voice can be achieved. Our goal at Highlights is to gather a community of open-minded children's book authors April 26-29, 2012 who wish to think deeply about:
Who has the right to write multiculturally?
How do we bring humility to our research?
What audience are we writing for?
Does the term "multicultural literature" match the needs of today's book market?
How is authentic cultural voice achieved?
This workshop also includes one-on-one manuscript critiques and author-guided writing exercises.
Read More
Workshop Leaders
[image error]
Mitali Perkins
Mitali was born in Kolkata, India, and immigrated at age seven to the United States with her family. Her award-winning books for young readers include Bamboo People, Monsoon Summer, Rickshaw Girl, Secret Keeper, and the First Daughter books.
Read More
[image error]
Donna Jo Napoli
Donna Jo Napoli is an award-winning writer of children's fiction, from picture books to young adult novels. She's won the Golden Kite, the
Sydney Taylor, the NJ Reading Association, and the Kentucky Bluegrass awards.
Read More
Come visit me on the Fire Escape!
September 27, 2011
Southern California Adventures
I'm heading to Ramona Convent School in Alhambra, California tomorrow. Here's the flyer designed by the librarian, Aniko Fekete:
Come visit me on the Fire Escape!
Come visit me on the Fire Escape!
September 22, 2011
Open Call for Submissions to YA Humor Anthology
photo via p.a.h. and creative commons
I'm privileged to be editing an anthology published by Candlewick Press tentatively called OPEN MIC, a compilation of funny short pieces written by some of today's best YA authors, people who grew up along the margins of race and culture in North America. One of my dreams has been to introduce one or two fresh, relatively unknown voices in this anthology, so I'm excited to announce that I'm calling for submissions.
WHY HUMOR AND RACE?
It's easy to see teens exploring boundaries, definitions, and trends in ethnicity and race in standup comedy, sitcoms, and funny short and long films. Meanwhile, many teen novels confronting these topics tend to be serious, reverential, or sad. Humor crosses borders like no other literary device, right? Shared laughter fosters community and provides the freedom to talk about issues that might otherwise cause division or discomfort. It also gets teens reading , and that's what we're aiming for in this book. Our authenticity and humor, hopefully, will inspire teens to talk about their own experiences as they share the book in classrooms, families, and through social media.
THE DETAILS
Your OPEN MIC contribution could include poignant, deep content as well as laugh-out loud hilarious scenes. You don't have to focus specifically on racism, but your piece will explore or illuminate coming of age and/or growing up along the margins of race and culture in North America. Hopefully, it will also be funny.
Your target audience is middle school to early high school, grades 7-9, so keep your protagonists at that age level or above. If your piece is chosen, you'll receive an advance against a small royalty percentage on the sale of the book across formats. As for promotion, along with Candlewick's usual stellar marketing efforts, we're going to spread the news like crazy through social media to publicize you and your other work as well.
HOW TO SUBMIT
I'm considering submissions to this open call on a rolling basis until January 15, 2012. Maximum word count is 2500. Send your story or essay (noting word count on the first page) along with a brief introductory cover letter to OPEN MIC, Attn: Mitali Perkins, Candlewick Press, 99 Dover Street, Somerville, MA 02144. Manuscripts will not be returned.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not put your name on the manuscript itself, only on the cover letter. Candlewick will keep the cover letters and number manuscripts to track them. I'm hoping to consider submissions without knowing the identities of the contributors—and I can't wait to read your piece!
***Come visit me on the Fire Escape!
September 19, 2011
How To Write Fiction Without The "Right" Ethnic Credentials
Fiction, lest it morph into memoir, always involves the crossing of borders. We create characters who belong to different classes, genders, and generations. But when it comes to writing stories in our racially-charged North American setting, we writers hesitate to cross borders of ethnicity.
Yet boldly there we must go, to shatter any kind of artificial, controlling apartheid with rules about who can write for and about whom. Do I give white or black authors the freedom to create brown protagonists? Of course! I
want the right to include white and black protagonists in my fiction. I don't want to write only about Bengali-American girls growing up in California — been there, done that. So why
should I protest if a topnotch Korean writer features a Bengali-American girl growing up in California and does it astoundingly well?
As with most
resounding affirmations, though, there are caveats. My theory is that when we feel we lack an authenticity credential in our idea for a story, we must compensate with three powerful tools: imagination + empathy + research.
Imagination
Empathy
Research
The bottom line is that even if we've covered the bases of imagination, empathy, and research, we'll still make mistakes. But so what? Nobody, insider or outsider, has ever written a novel without something cringe-worthy in it—even if the author's the only one who notices it. All we can do is swallow our pride, admit to and learn from errors, and keep pressing on in the good work of storytelling.Come visit me on the Fire Escape!
Yet boldly there we must go, to shatter any kind of artificial, controlling apartheid with rules about who can write for and about whom. Do I give white or black authors the freedom to create brown protagonists? Of course! I
want the right to include white and black protagonists in my fiction. I don't want to write only about Bengali-American girls growing up in California — been there, done that. So why
should I protest if a topnotch Korean writer features a Bengali-American girl growing up in California and does it astoundingly well?
As with most
resounding affirmations, though, there are caveats. My theory is that when we feel we lack an authenticity credential in our idea for a story, we must compensate with three powerful tools: imagination + empathy + research.
Imagination
Read widely, writers. In this case, our imagination is best fed by reading the works of writers who are different than we are. When is the last time we finished a novel written by an author of a different race or ethnicity than ours?
Empathy
Tread carefully,
writers. If a particular community is processing a shared experience of
suffering through the healing power of story, maybe it's time for our "outsider" version to wait. When we have more power in society than our protagonist, it's always good to ask whether to speak on his or her behalf. If we still feel compelled by the story, we must
lean heavily on the gift of imaginative empathy. Always, love deeply within that community
and listen well. Someone once said that to cross a border of power to tell a story, a writer better live there first, shut up, and hold a bunch of babies.
Research
Study diligently, writers. Authenticity rings in the details of story. Dialogue and nonverbal gestures and postures come instinctively to insiders; outsiders must become A+ students of cultures not our own. Books, visits, interviews, academic journals, photographs, videos, movies ... each border-crossing novel should generate a bibliography, and feel as intense as a thesis when it comes to mastering the details.
The bottom line is that even if we've covered the bases of imagination, empathy, and research, we'll still make mistakes. But so what? Nobody, insider or outsider, has ever written a novel without something cringe-worthy in it—even if the author's the only one who notices it. All we can do is swallow our pride, admit to and learn from errors, and keep pressing on in the good work of storytelling.Come visit me on the Fire Escape!
September 16, 2011
Fresh Ink: How One Indie Bookseller Gets Teens And Tweens Reading
Tonight I'm heading to
Porter Square Books
in Cambridge, Ma, to celebrate the one-year anniversary of an innovative program called Fresh Ink. Last year, the indie bookseller sent out this invitation to the community:
FIVE HUNDRED reviews later, the store is throwing a party, and rightfully so, don't you think? Here's the schedule of events starting at 7 o'clock in the evening:
Carter Hasegawa, bookseller and erstwhile Candlewick guy, is giving an introduction.
Three Fresh Ink reviewers will discuss writing reviews: Jenna, age 15, Ty, age 8, and Allison, age 11.
Anne DeCourcey, sales rep from HarperCollins, will share why publishers value reviewers.
Three guest authors will discuss memorable reviews or how reviews have impacted their work:
Doesn't this sound like the perfect event to demonstrate the power of an independent bookseller? I'll be taking photos, so stay tuned for an update. And if you're in the area, please stop by and introduce yourself.
Come visit me on the Fire Escape!
Want to be the first one to read new and upcoming books BEFORE anyone else? Introducing a new program at Porter Square Books called FRESH INK that allows young people between the ages of 7-17 to read books BEFORE they are published. How do we do this? Publishers send us early copies of books months ahead of publication to help us decide which books we want to carry on our shelves. These early books are called Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) and unfortunately for us, we just don't have time to read
everything. So we're asking for your help.
FIVE HUNDRED reviews later, the store is throwing a party, and rightfully so, don't you think? Here's the schedule of events starting at 7 o'clock in the evening:
Carter Hasegawa, bookseller and erstwhile Candlewick guy, is giving an introduction.
Three Fresh Ink reviewers will discuss writing reviews: Jenna, age 15, Ty, age 8, and Allison, age 11.
Anne DeCourcey, sales rep from HarperCollins, will share why publishers value reviewers.
Three guest authors will discuss memorable reviews or how reviews have impacted their work:
Sheela Chari, author of VANISHED (Hyperion, Aug 2011)
Karsten Knight, author of WILDEFIRE (Simon and Schuster, July 2011)
Mitali Perkins, author of BAMBOO PEOPLE (Charlesbridge, July 2010)
Doesn't this sound like the perfect event to demonstrate the power of an independent bookseller? I'll be taking photos, so stay tuned for an update. And if you're in the area, please stop by and introduce yourself.
Come visit me on the Fire Escape!
