evidence of things unseen

I just finished an author visit at a fabulous school in Cobble Hill. I concluded by telling them about Ship of Souls, which I'm still hoping will be published early in 2012. When I wrapped up my presentation, a boy shot his hand in the air and asked, "Are there really ghosts living under Prospect Park?" I'm used to kids asking me about Marcus, the older brother in Bird who succumbs to drug addiction. And I don't mind telling them about my own brother and his struggle to make good choices in his life. I'm writing a conference paper now that begins with a summary of my father's life—including the affair that ended his marriage to my mother. I think I'm a pretty open person and I like to model ways of theorizing my own experiences. Today I told the kids about the phoenix dying in flames as a new bird is born from the ashes–hands flew into the air: How did it start the fire? What did it eat? Where did it live? Is that a real bird?"

My answer? The phoenix is an ancient mythological bird that originated in Africa, though there are competing versions of the story in other parts of the world. That usually gets a blank stare. "So…is it real?" Today I tried answering it this way: "A myth is a story that's been told over and over for hundreds–even thousands–of years. And the story still has meaning for people today." Another blank stare. So I finished by saying, "I believe the story." I do. Just like I believe in fairies and mutants with special abilities. If I didn't believe in them, I couldn't write convincing stories about them. And storytelling means a lot to me. But is it right to say that to kids? I'm a bit nervous about an underground scene in SoS that involves subway trains—I don't want kids searching for a way underground, and I certainly don't want them imitating the dangerous moves the characters make in the book. I don't want them trying to pry off the plaque on the boulder in Prospect Park. But once you set a child's imagination on fire, can you control the consequences? Maybe not, though I do think I can manage their expectations somewhat. The goal is to encourage them to keep dreaming, rather than attempting to recreate the world of the book in the here and now. And ultimately, I have to trust kids to draw a line between that dream world and reality. Even though I know that line is riddled with gaps…