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[CCBC-Net] Question for Jacqueline Woodson
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From: Jacqueline Woodson <jackiewoodsonfanmail>
Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:57:53 -0400
I was just in Chicago talking about this to some young Tupac fans. I've always been quite fascinated by Tupac, the activist. I think his music tells some really interesting stories. If you just google Tupac Lyrics and read through what he was trying to say about the world, it's kind of mind-blowing that someone that young could have so much insight. I know it didn't hurt that his mom was a Black Panther (the stuff I write about him and his mom is all true.) I read somewhere that someone thought the book felt like a fan letter to Tupac and that was interesting because it's more of a fan letter to the people doing what they need to do to change the world. If anything, it's a fan letter to the characters -- Neeka, the narrator, D Foster, Tash, JJones and on and on. Each person in that book is doing what is necessary to move forward and that mobility is a sometimes a battle. So, yes, I think Tupac was a young activist who was also very creative. His work spoke to young people as it does to the characters in the book. But his role in the book, for me as the writer, was more to help hold up a mirror so that the characters could see their own amazingness. And I think that's what good art does.
On Jun 13, 2008, at 2:08 AM, Steven Engelfried wrote:
> Thanks for joining us! I was curious about how Tupac Shakur's
> life and music came to play such a prominent role in your latest
> novel. Did the story grow from a personal response
> to Tupac's work on your part, or was it more that these
> characters were ones who would have responded so strongly to him?
> Either way, I really enjoyed the way you wove his story
> and that of the girls and the historical time period together...
>
> - Steven Engelfried, Multnomah County Library
> sengelfried at yahoo.com
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> CCBC-Net mailing list
> CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
> http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
Received on Fri 13 Jun 2008 03:57:53 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:57:53 -0400
I was just in Chicago talking about this to some young Tupac fans. I've always been quite fascinated by Tupac, the activist. I think his music tells some really interesting stories. If you just google Tupac Lyrics and read through what he was trying to say about the world, it's kind of mind-blowing that someone that young could have so much insight. I know it didn't hurt that his mom was a Black Panther (the stuff I write about him and his mom is all true.) I read somewhere that someone thought the book felt like a fan letter to Tupac and that was interesting because it's more of a fan letter to the people doing what they need to do to change the world. If anything, it's a fan letter to the characters -- Neeka, the narrator, D Foster, Tash, JJones and on and on. Each person in that book is doing what is necessary to move forward and that mobility is a sometimes a battle. So, yes, I think Tupac was a young activist who was also very creative. His work spoke to young people as it does to the characters in the book. But his role in the book, for me as the writer, was more to help hold up a mirror so that the characters could see their own amazingness. And I think that's what good art does.
On Jun 13, 2008, at 2:08 AM, Steven Engelfried wrote:
> Thanks for joining us! I was curious about how Tupac Shakur's
> life and music came to play such a prominent role in your latest
> novel. Did the story grow from a personal response
> to Tupac's work on your part, or was it more that these
> characters were ones who would have responded so strongly to him?
> Either way, I really enjoyed the way you wove his story
> and that of the girls and the historical time period together...
>
> - Steven Engelfried, Multnomah County Library
> sengelfried at yahoo.com
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> CCBC-Net mailing list
> CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
> http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
Received on Fri 13 Jun 2008 03:57:53 PM CDT
