from Portland, Oregon

Here is a group of wonderful 5th graders in Portland, Oregon, who spent an hour asking me questions yesterday morning...and many of whom came last night to be part of 900 people to hear the annual children's author lecture held each year. My hand got tired from signing books afterwards...but it was nice that many of the books were the brand new one, THE WILLOUGHBYS, which is JUST available for the first time.

Night before last I watched a reading of the play "Gossamer," by performers from the Oregon Children's Theater (2 children and 5 adults, reading the parts) listened to comments and questions from an enthusiastic audience, and could feel for the first time just how it will work on stage. There was no staging yet, of course, but listening to the reading, you could sense the pacing, and the scene changes. People in the audience who knew the book enjoyed the reading; but the important thing was that people who had never read the book could still "get it" in its dramatic form. There was laughter and silence and probably even a little eye-dabbing here and there.

Now I must dash off to speak at a luncheon and then rush to the airport to get a plane to Vancouver, where I'll be speaking tonight. Busy week!

Comments

[Anne Gallivan]

What a week you are having! Gossamer seems a good fit for the stage and I'm sure it is exciting to feel the response of an audience as it is read.
I'm awaiting a call or chat from Calgary where Tom is residing for 3 weeks. He had three days in Vancouver last week. Enjoy!