TBR: Jake, whose father is an abusive alcoholic, is one of many characters in your novels who have been deserted or rejected by their parents, or by society. What inspires you to write about alienated and troubled kids?
Paterson: I can't be sure of the answer to this either. I guess children whose lives are so difficult are simply more interesting to me than children who live comfortably. It's not that I would want such a terrible life for anyone I know and love, but most children in the world do not have what we middle-class Americans regard as the simplest of life's necessities. Someone has to open our eyes to this fact and help us to see the humanity in people we so easily despise or fear. Since I seem to see it, I thought that someone might be me.
The word moot is an archaic term meaning "argue, debate, discuss." In early English history, a moot was a meeting to discuss local affairs. Moot comes from the Old English gemot, meaning "meeting."
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Author: Katherine Paterson
Great interview with Newbery Medal recipient, Katherine Paterson in the NYTimes about her new novel, Bread and Roses, Too. She comments on the children who inspire her stories:
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