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Lori Marie Carlson
Not a few of my readers are puzzled by the books I write. "How come you do these bilingual volumes," they want to know. Sometimes this question is asked with a slight frown, as if to indicate I've crossed a line of propriety, for I am "Carlson," blonde, blue-eyed. Another frequent query is: "What are you? Do you have Spanish parents?"
Why is it, I wonder, that we make so many assumptions about identity based on looks and ethnicity? And why do we determine value by a name? I remember that a publisher approached me at a conference once, after I had given a keynote speech. Holding one of my books in her hand and waving it at me she said, "If you were a Latina we would have given you an award for this book."
I thought about that comment for along time afterward. It made me realize that my writerly life would be more difficult and even lonelier than most. But at the same time—stubborn gringa that I am—it made me even more committed to my writerly vision.
The simple truth is I came to creative writing as a student and admirer of Spanish language (a language that I fell in love with when it was first taught to me in elementary school). I could not have predicted this when I began my career in New York City, just out of graduate school. I did know, then, that I would try to make a living by writing, but I had no idea my dream would be launched by my formal studies of Hispanic literature, and just as importantly, a non-profit institution that offered me my first job.
It was in the mid-1980s that I got the notion to write for children of Spanish-speaking households. By then, I had been working several years with the Latin American and Latino population in New York as a kind of unofficial, cultural diplomat at an organization called The Center for Inter-American Relations (renamed The Americas Society). I mainly promoted the work of famous Latin American writers and artists through a variety of programs, but I also co-edited a magazine that showcased English translations of the best Latin American literature of the day. The more involved in publishing I became, the more convinced I was of the dearth of good literature for children of Latino immigrants. There was almost nothing in bookstores that related to the Latino adolescent experience and very little else for younger children.
Believing as I do that writers wield a lot of power in the world—albeit invisible—I decided to create books that would address injustice and prejudice. I wanted to help, in particular, the forgotten members of our society, the ones that mainstream publishing had ignored far too long.
In describing what I do as a writer, I'd say that I try to bridge divides. Whether the chasm is between races, ethnic groups, language, genders, or generations it has been my aim to offer encouragement and feelings of hope to my readers. Why not try to be uplifting when there is so much grief and despair in this world? This is my way of thinking.
Cool Salsa, for instance, came out of my desire to give Latino teens some emotional and psychological undergirding through poetry, a genre traditionally celebrated by all Latin American countries. My latest book Moccasin Thunder, aims to reveal the fears, hopes, and dreams of American Indian youth, as seen by a variety of great writers from diverse tribal communities today. But a picture book like Sol a Sol was created with language arts in mind. (I am, as you might imagine, a strong advocate of foreign language study.) And my novel, The Sunday Tertulia, was about bringing together women of various ages and cultures in a setting of comfort for mutual support.
My writing life is, I suppose, best seen as a prism. I am an editor, a translator, and a novelist. And depending on my goal for a project, any one of these identities—sometimes all of them—is highlighted. •
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About the Author:
Lori Marie Carlson received her M.A. in Hispanic Literature from Indiana University in 1981. She taught at Indiana University, Columbia University, and New York University. Among the awards her books have received are ALA Best Book for Young Adults, School Library Journal Book of the Year, Horn Book's Fanfare, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon, the Américas Award Commended Title, and Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies. She lives in New York City with her husband, the novelist Oscar Hijuelos.
Most recent titles:
Moccasin Thunder: American Indian Stories for Today (HarperCollins 2005)
Red Hot Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Being Young and Latino in the U.S. (Henry Holt 2005)
The Flamboyant (HarperCollins 2002)
The Sunday Tertulia (HarperCollins 2000)
You're On!: Seven Plays in English and Spanish (HarperCollins 1999)
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