Anthology aims to inspire young writers

FRIDAY, JUNE 22: A new book of children’s literature brings together some of the island’s top writers with young and emerging writers.

I Wish I Could Tell You: Bermuda Anthology of Children’s Literature and Young Adult Stories, is edited by Trinidadian-born Lynn Joseph, herself an award-winning writer. Joseph, the 2011 Writer in Residence in Bermuda, led a number of writers’ workshops in October. The book includes stories by some of those who participated in the workshops. The storytellers include Dr Kim Dismont-Robinson who came up with the idea for the book, Elizabeth Jones and Trudy Snaith as well as 14 emerging teen writers. The book has been illustrated with the work of local artists including Graham Foster, April Branco and Alan Smith.

Jones spoke with us about the book, published by the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs and printed by Island Press, sister company of the Bermuda Sun. It is on sale for $20 at the department and at retailers around the island.

Do you hope this book will inspire our young writers of the future?

I do hope the Anthology will add to the creative capital building and thriving in Bermuda right now. The stories are not only set in Bermuda homes, nature reserves and landscapes but they feature Bermudian characters and history, so it was our intention to encourage young readers who will enjoy reading about places and people with which they can identify, and hopefully encourage young writers to create their own works highlighting Bermudian culture and settings.

How did the idea for the book come about?

The initial idea for the Anthology was Dr Kim Dismont Robinson and it grew out of the workshops I was teaching for three weeks in October 2011 when I was Bermuda Writer in Residence. I have to thank Bermuda and Dr Robinson for inviting me to this enchanted island to work doing what I love best. From that starting point, I have grown to love this place like a second home and I am developing a new young adult novel set right here on St David’s Island, Bermuda.

You say children’s voices can be ignored, repressed or even trivialized. How does this book avoid doing that?

This book gives children a voice in their community by expressing anger at the adults in their lives who inflict violence upon them, who ignore their rights as individuals, and who take them for granted. Some of the stories also lend a voice to siblings whose innate closeness can lead to oppressive relationships.

My focus was on picking stories that reflect the curiosity, joy, pain, confusion, and revelations of young people and teenagers, so the actual theme was not as important as the truth-telling.

How did you go about choosing the authors and why did you choose those in particular?

I chose the authors based on stories they had worked on during the three-week writers workshop I taught... Although none of the stories were completed when the workshop ended, there was enough material already written that I could work with the writers in developing and editing the stories into finished pieces for the Anthology.  By this time, after working with them for three weeks, I knew their strengths and weaknesses and how best they could revise their work and they did me proud... All of the authors in the Anthology have the heart and soul of true writers, which is really a willingness to suspend the ego and consider constructive criticism. They all had the ability to look at their written words in a new light, sometimes taking a path they might not have considered before, such as switching the voice from third person to first, which changes a story’s tone...  The Department also sent out an island-wide request for submissions, and I chose one author, Olivia Tod, a teenager, from amongst the submissions of mostly adult writers. She surprised me with her skill at such a young age, and I hope this publication will encourage all the writers to continue to develop their craft and submit their work for publication.

How much work did you have to put in as editor in terms of working the stories to fit the book?

One story (could take) four hours, another two days... I also spent time with Dr Kim Dismont Robinson choosing the corresponding artwork for the stories.  We did that via skype. Then, there was editing during the design and printing stages of the book, which Dr Robinson helped with tremendously. We had to read the printed stories to ensure there were no mistakes made or pages left out etc.

Working with Dr. Robinson was a wonderful experience. We think the same way, and tended to agree on just about everything, even before we had discussed it.

What age group is this book aimed at?

The book is not geared toward a specific age group, although most of the work in it feature protagonists from 10 years old and up. Many are teens. And of course, we have Bermuda’s emerging Teen section with writings of talented poets from The Berkeley Institute that speak to the new generation.