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From: Joyce Sidman <joyce.sidman_at_gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2014 16:35:01 -0500
Emily,
Thanks for your question about illustration and poetry!
First of all, I think that in general, illustration is critical to poetry for young people, because it invites the reader into the book. Since poetry can be intimidating to some readers, it's doubly important that the illustrations be both welcoming and intriguing, matching the feeling and intent of the text. That said, poems need some breathing room as well--some white space around them.
Terrell Young of BYU once remarked that I have good "illustrator karma". Well, I owe it all (once again) to my editor, Ann Rider of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Ann has always paired me with wonderful illustrators. While it's true--especially at this point in our long-standing relationship--that my opinion is given weight in illustration decisions, the initial illustration ideas usually come from her. I think many don't realize how important an editor is to a book. She/he must be the visionary, the overseer, who must delicately but firmly guide text, art, and design into a cohesive whole. Ann often "sees" the book before I do (as in the case of WHAT THE HEART KNOWS, which I discussed earlier) and thus knows better than I what sort of artist to choose.
The first book that Pamela Zagarenski and I worked on together was THIS IS JUST TO SAY: POEMS OF APOLOGY AND FORGIVENESS. I did not know Pamela's work, but Ann was convinced that she would be able to convey both the emotion of the poems and the look of a 6th grader's art, which was crucial to the book. As usual, she was right. I'm not sure what it is about Pamela's art that makes it so right for my text, but we have gone on to create two more books together: RED SINGS FROM TREETOPS and WHAT THE HEART KNOWS. Somehow we're on the same wavelength. I always love to see her and spend time with her, and find that we dive right away into deep discussion and finish each other's sentences. I feel so lucky.
Pamela understood right away what to do with the poems in WHAT THE HEART KNOWS. She'd been sending me poems by Rumi and Hafiz for years. She just took off, and all this amazing art came tumbling out. She chose the trim size, and Houghton Mifflin did a beautiful job designing the book. I was thrilled with the final product: thrilled to hold it in my hands, and thrilled to give it away to everyone I knew!
Joyce
> I find people are consistently very taken with the illustrations for your
> poems and books -- more than any other I remember. A number of librarians
> have expressed great appreciation for your collaboration with Pamela
> Zagarenski in* What the Heart Knows* and other books. I know frequently
> the matching of illustrator and author is out the hands or control of
> either, but your poems with Pamela's illustrations seem almost organically
> grown and intertwined. I'm wondering if you can share your thoughts on your
> own experiences as well as the pairing of poetry and illustration in
> general.
>
> Thanks,
> Emily
>
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Received on Thu 24 Apr 2014 04:38:41 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2014 16:35:01 -0500
Emily,
Thanks for your question about illustration and poetry!
First of all, I think that in general, illustration is critical to poetry for young people, because it invites the reader into the book. Since poetry can be intimidating to some readers, it's doubly important that the illustrations be both welcoming and intriguing, matching the feeling and intent of the text. That said, poems need some breathing room as well--some white space around them.
Terrell Young of BYU once remarked that I have good "illustrator karma". Well, I owe it all (once again) to my editor, Ann Rider of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Ann has always paired me with wonderful illustrators. While it's true--especially at this point in our long-standing relationship--that my opinion is given weight in illustration decisions, the initial illustration ideas usually come from her. I think many don't realize how important an editor is to a book. She/he must be the visionary, the overseer, who must delicately but firmly guide text, art, and design into a cohesive whole. Ann often "sees" the book before I do (as in the case of WHAT THE HEART KNOWS, which I discussed earlier) and thus knows better than I what sort of artist to choose.
The first book that Pamela Zagarenski and I worked on together was THIS IS JUST TO SAY: POEMS OF APOLOGY AND FORGIVENESS. I did not know Pamela's work, but Ann was convinced that she would be able to convey both the emotion of the poems and the look of a 6th grader's art, which was crucial to the book. As usual, she was right. I'm not sure what it is about Pamela's art that makes it so right for my text, but we have gone on to create two more books together: RED SINGS FROM TREETOPS and WHAT THE HEART KNOWS. Somehow we're on the same wavelength. I always love to see her and spend time with her, and find that we dive right away into deep discussion and finish each other's sentences. I feel so lucky.
Pamela understood right away what to do with the poems in WHAT THE HEART KNOWS. She'd been sending me poems by Rumi and Hafiz for years. She just took off, and all this amazing art came tumbling out. She chose the trim size, and Houghton Mifflin did a beautiful job designing the book. I was thrilled with the final product: thrilled to hold it in my hands, and thrilled to give it away to everyone I knew!
Joyce
> I find people are consistently very taken with the illustrations for your
> poems and books -- more than any other I remember. A number of librarians
> have expressed great appreciation for your collaboration with Pamela
> Zagarenski in* What the Heart Knows* and other books. I know frequently
> the matching of illustrator and author is out the hands or control of
> either, but your poems with Pamela's illustrations seem almost organically
> grown and intertwined. I'm wondering if you can share your thoughts on your
> own experiences as well as the pairing of poetry and illustration in
> general.
>
> Thanks,
> Emily
>
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Received on Thu 24 Apr 2014 04:38:41 PM CDT
