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Children's Literature in the News!
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From: Ginny Kruse <gmkruse>
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 1995 16:42:00 -600
Did you hear or read the news that Virginia Hamilton is one of 24 people awarded a MacArthur Foundation Grant? According to a report in the June 13th New York Times, Virginia Hamilton "has woven black folk tales and narratives of African-American life into her many children's books." My CCBC colleague Katy Horning phoned me early Tuesday morning at home to tell me she discovered this news on the front page of the Wisconsin State Journal, a morning Madison newspaper.
Others receiving MacArthur Grants this year include Sandra Cisneros, Octavia Butler, Meredith Monk, and Joel Rogers, a UW-Madison professor of political science, law and sociology.
Librarians and teachers interested in children's literature and/or working professionally with children and young teenagers certainly know Virginia Hamilton's books: her novels, folktales, biographies, and short fiction. The MacArthur Grant will bring Virginia Hamilton's works to the attention of others interested in the arts, as well.
Ms. Hamilton is the first author of children's books to receive this fellowship rewarding creative people with unrestricted five-year grants plus free health insurance. Sometimes these awards are called
"genius grants" because there are no strings attached, no reports to write, no speeches to give, and - for some - no need to hold down a regular job in order to support themselves during those five years! What freedom for creative people! The MacArthur Foundation describes the recipients as "hard-working experts who often push the boundaries of their fields in ways that others will follow." Certainly Virginia Hamilton has pushed those boundaries, over and over, in children's literature.
Ms. Hamilton has been our guest on campus more than once, most recently as the featured speaker at the CCBC 30th anniversary banquet hosted in 1993 by the Friends of the CCBC. Yesterday when she phoned the CCBC, Virginia Hamilton indicated that she thinks of this most recent honor - one for which she had no idea she had been nominated as illuminating the entire children's literature community; this is what she said she is commenting to the reporters who are calling her. She is optimistic that the door will be open from now on for other children's book writers and artists to win MacArthur grants. I hope her prediction is correct!
Those of us attending the annual American Library Assocation (ALA) conference in Chicago beginning June 23 will have two opportunities to hear Virginia Hamilton speak: 1) on Friday, June 23, 8:00pm, she is appearing with Lloyd Alexander, Leonard Everett Fisher and Zena Sutherland on a panel hosted by the journal "Booklist;" and 2) on Sunday evening, June 25, she will give an acceptance speech as recipient of the 1995 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for her distinguished contribution to the world of children's literature. Both events are open to the public; I can furnish you with details about this, if you wish. Perhaps those who hear Virginia Hamilton in Chicago this month will want to discuss new insights about her works after hearing one or both of her ALA speeches, while others of us will be eager to find out more.
But let's not wait. Let's begin to talk together now about Virginia Hamilton and her books. What is your favorite Virginia Hamilton book? Anecdote? Are people asking about her in your school or library as a result of this news? Which of her books do you consider to be significant in terms of what the MacArthur Grant acknowledges? Why?
In anticipation of a lively CCBC-NET discussion about Virginia Hamilton, Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse at macc.wisc.edu
Received on Wed 14 Jun 1995 05:42:00 PM CDT
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 1995 16:42:00 -600
Did you hear or read the news that Virginia Hamilton is one of 24 people awarded a MacArthur Foundation Grant? According to a report in the June 13th New York Times, Virginia Hamilton "has woven black folk tales and narratives of African-American life into her many children's books." My CCBC colleague Katy Horning phoned me early Tuesday morning at home to tell me she discovered this news on the front page of the Wisconsin State Journal, a morning Madison newspaper.
Others receiving MacArthur Grants this year include Sandra Cisneros, Octavia Butler, Meredith Monk, and Joel Rogers, a UW-Madison professor of political science, law and sociology.
Librarians and teachers interested in children's literature and/or working professionally with children and young teenagers certainly know Virginia Hamilton's books: her novels, folktales, biographies, and short fiction. The MacArthur Grant will bring Virginia Hamilton's works to the attention of others interested in the arts, as well.
Ms. Hamilton is the first author of children's books to receive this fellowship rewarding creative people with unrestricted five-year grants plus free health insurance. Sometimes these awards are called
"genius grants" because there are no strings attached, no reports to write, no speeches to give, and - for some - no need to hold down a regular job in order to support themselves during those five years! What freedom for creative people! The MacArthur Foundation describes the recipients as "hard-working experts who often push the boundaries of their fields in ways that others will follow." Certainly Virginia Hamilton has pushed those boundaries, over and over, in children's literature.
Ms. Hamilton has been our guest on campus more than once, most recently as the featured speaker at the CCBC 30th anniversary banquet hosted in 1993 by the Friends of the CCBC. Yesterday when she phoned the CCBC, Virginia Hamilton indicated that she thinks of this most recent honor - one for which she had no idea she had been nominated as illuminating the entire children's literature community; this is what she said she is commenting to the reporters who are calling her. She is optimistic that the door will be open from now on for other children's book writers and artists to win MacArthur grants. I hope her prediction is correct!
Those of us attending the annual American Library Assocation (ALA) conference in Chicago beginning June 23 will have two opportunities to hear Virginia Hamilton speak: 1) on Friday, June 23, 8:00pm, she is appearing with Lloyd Alexander, Leonard Everett Fisher and Zena Sutherland on a panel hosted by the journal "Booklist;" and 2) on Sunday evening, June 25, she will give an acceptance speech as recipient of the 1995 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for her distinguished contribution to the world of children's literature. Both events are open to the public; I can furnish you with details about this, if you wish. Perhaps those who hear Virginia Hamilton in Chicago this month will want to discuss new insights about her works after hearing one or both of her ALA speeches, while others of us will be eager to find out more.
But let's not wait. Let's begin to talk together now about Virginia Hamilton and her books. What is your favorite Virginia Hamilton book? Anecdote? Are people asking about her in your school or library as a result of this news? Which of her books do you consider to be significant in terms of what the MacArthur Grant acknowledges? Why?
In anticipation of a lively CCBC-NET discussion about Virginia Hamilton, Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse at macc.wisc.edu
Received on Wed 14 Jun 1995 05:42:00 PM CDT
