Jody Berland asked Charlie Jane Anders:

Hi Charlie Jane, I am trying to write about All the Birds in the Sky for a book on literature and sound because I really love it and the editor wants to know about Chaucer's Parliament of Birds.... was it a factor? thanks, Jody Berland

Charlie Jane Anders Hi! Sorry this took me a minute. First of all, I'm so pleased you picked up on the Chaucer thing! You're literally the first person ever to ask me about it, and I couldn't be happier. There was a stage, early on in the writing of AtBitS, when I was determined to insert little Chaucer easter eggs into the whole book. I think one or two made it in there, like the name of the school that Laurence and Patricia attend, but in the end it was one thing too many to try and keep track of. I had elaborate plans for how Chaucer would keep coming back as a weird motif in the book, like someone would tell someone "White is dead," and this would be a clue to something. Anyway, yes, this was a huge factor. I love that Chaucer poem and generally am a huge Chaucer fan. I even bought a book of Chaucer criticism to help me weave in more references to the text, before I abandoned this plan. I hope my answer isn't too late for your purposes!

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