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Another question for Susan Kuklin
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From: Susan Kuklin <76641.3035>
Date: 24 Apr 97 14:46:30 EDT
Dear Karen:
Answering your questions is great fun. Just don't tell my editor -- I'm supposed to be working. Choosing one person (Thinking Big) or many (Kodomo) to be featured in my books isn't a conscious decision. Actually I am currently working on a story about Iqbal Masih, a young boy who was chained to a carpet loom in Pakistan. You may have heard of him because he got a great deal of press here. So I switch back and forth.
Here's my response to your question as to who ends up in my books. Usually I interview a large number of people. They are told in advance that they may or may not end up in print. My editor, Refna Wilkin, and I make the final cut. Speaking Out was a 600 page manuscript. (Jason, the angry white supremist said he know he would get in. When I asked him how he knew, he replied, "Look at me!" He was right!) Refna and I blue pencil draft after draft. We each defend the right our favorite interviewees. At times it is a painful, heated process. One rule of thumb is that wWhen two people talk on the same subject or when they express the similar views, I choose the one who I believe is most articulate, who would most interest young people.
A nice thing that happened after I turned in my first draft of Irrepressible Spirit: Conversations with Human Rights Activists. Once Refna read though it, she called me and said, "It's much too long. (there was a pause) BUT I refuse to cut a single word!!" That was a first.
Usually I do a number of interviews and then shape the book to fit the people. In Irrepressible Spirit, I worked in the reverse: I chose a number of human rights abuses (unfortunately there were tons to choose from) and then went about finding people who either monitored them or experienced them. A great deal of my work has to do with networking. One person will often call back about a friend or an activist I might want to meet. It's a most enjoyable process.
Susan Kuklin
Received on Thu 24 Apr 1997 01:46:30 PM CDT
Date: 24 Apr 97 14:46:30 EDT
Dear Karen:
Answering your questions is great fun. Just don't tell my editor -- I'm supposed to be working. Choosing one person (Thinking Big) or many (Kodomo) to be featured in my books isn't a conscious decision. Actually I am currently working on a story about Iqbal Masih, a young boy who was chained to a carpet loom in Pakistan. You may have heard of him because he got a great deal of press here. So I switch back and forth.
Here's my response to your question as to who ends up in my books. Usually I interview a large number of people. They are told in advance that they may or may not end up in print. My editor, Refna Wilkin, and I make the final cut. Speaking Out was a 600 page manuscript. (Jason, the angry white supremist said he know he would get in. When I asked him how he knew, he replied, "Look at me!" He was right!) Refna and I blue pencil draft after draft. We each defend the right our favorite interviewees. At times it is a painful, heated process. One rule of thumb is that wWhen two people talk on the same subject or when they express the similar views, I choose the one who I believe is most articulate, who would most interest young people.
A nice thing that happened after I turned in my first draft of Irrepressible Spirit: Conversations with Human Rights Activists. Once Refna read though it, she called me and said, "It's much too long. (there was a pause) BUT I refuse to cut a single word!!" That was a first.
Usually I do a number of interviews and then shape the book to fit the people. In Irrepressible Spirit, I worked in the reverse: I chose a number of human rights abuses (unfortunately there were tons to choose from) and then went about finding people who either monitored them or experienced them. A great deal of my work has to do with networking. One person will often call back about a friend or an activist I might want to meet. It's a most enjoyable process.
Susan Kuklin
Received on Thu 24 Apr 1997 01:46:30 PM CDT
