THURBER HOUSE: WEEK ONE

Mr. Thwaits, the gym teacher who stopped exercising 20 years ago...
(from MILO -drawn at the Thurber House July 22nd, 2008)

Arrived last Saturday and by Sunday Morning I was writing and drawing cartoons for MILO sitting at my desk inside James Thurber's house! Let me say that again: I was writing and drawing cartoons inside James Thurber's house. I can't describe the giddy feeling I get each time I do this (and I've been doing it every day since I've been here).

Of course before I did any of that - I got my month-long "office" in shape. The Thurber House apartment has a neat 2nd bedroom that is the "office" with a great long desk, which I quickly made my own with items from home....

(clay MILO my son made me, Japanese water easel, EYE-VY plant

also made by my son for my 1st second book WHIRLED...)

(...and here are the characters from my 2nd second book
SQUIB PIXLEY - yes, made by my son - and wife!)
(..and who could travel without 3-D images of your family to keep you company!)

Let me share what I know - 77 Jefferson Ave (where I now sit in the attic) is just one of Thurber's Columbus homes. Apparently the Thurbers moves around a lot. But this is the home where he lived while attending Ohio State University and it is the house referred to in most of the stories collected in My Life And Hard Times.

The week marched quickly and in between my own writing, a few bike rides and some needed iced coffee runs - I taught two library workshops and two Thurber Writing Camp workshops. I love the energy of brainstorming and creating with kids - and from my POV anyway, we all had a blast!

One of many high-points of the week though was a total surprise event! I read a comment on my first Thurber Blog post - from a librarian here in the Columbus area who just happened to be doing a Pond Scum book discussion for kids and parents. "Could you maybe drop by?" she asked.

(There we are after an hour of fun discussion and many grossed-out Pond Scummy munchies! On the LEFT is amazing Upper Arlington librarian, Kate Hastings, who also writes a wonderful book discussion blog Talkin' Bout Books! Thanks again and it was great meeting everyone!)

There was plenty of time for some exploring which included - The Jazz and Rib Festival (note: when full from taste-testing many different ribs listen to STOMACH! Do not eat more ribs even though the smells of 50 different rib joints from around the country will tell you otherwise!
I also went to one of the last films in the OHIO Theater Summer film series. "The Third Man" is a film noir classic and to see it in the 1920's era restored theater complete with an organist who plays before the show (and rises up on the white organ from the orchestra pit like some sort of musical god!) It was a real treat. Check out the OHIO THEATER here!

I know I hinted about the Thurber Ghost....but that will have to wait until next time when I tell you about hunting for a banjo.... at Bob's Banjo Barn!!!

ARRIVING AT THURBER HOUSE

We made it! From Montreal - by way of Ann Arbor, Michigan (great to see my old friends and their wonderful kids!) - then 3 hours drive south and I arrived right here at the Thurber House, smack dab in the middle of Columbus.

I have to admit - crossing into Ohio I got all goosey in my gut - most likely from the anticipation that in 2 short hours I'd be arriving at the Thurber House (and not because my friends and I barbecued tons of ribs and chicken the night before!)
You have to know - I lived in Columbus many years ago (I do mean "many" - trust me - a lot of you weren't born yet)! So as I drove closer the memories of being at my first job and making my first out of college friends and the whole experience of being free and employed in a career you know you're just beginning - all that just bombarded me (and still does each time I see something that springs a memory on me like a mousetrap!).

But my memories of Columbus are for later - THIS post is for saying what a wonderful feeling it was to drive off the highway and onto Jefferson Avenue - the quiet "U" shaped street lined with leafy trees and old Victorian houses with the white gazebo in the middle. And then I pulled up to #77 - the house I've been staring at on the postcard by my desk all year. The photo above is my grin at arriving - and Milo's glee at finally getting out of the car where I chose all the music.

Pat Shannon, Director of the Thurber House, met me and gave me the tour, room by room - my mouth was still grinning like a madman - so in awe was I to be staring at Thurber's artwork, old photos, his bedroom, in fact all the rooms described in "My Life And Hard Times" and so much more!

After dragging my stuff up to the attic apartment and getting my own set of keys - I was left alone in the house at 77 Jefferson Ave. James Thurber's House. It's almost a guilty little feeling inside me that shouts and squeals that "I am so lucky to have this honor and opportunity!"

I quickly set up my workspace and my photos of home and some toys and gadgets which helped me settle into the idea that I am here and ready to write, draw and teach....oh, and explore Columbus too!

And then there's my first encounter with the famous Thurber House GHOST....but more about that next time.

AND AWAY WE GO!

Bon Voyage! Well, I'm officially off on my Thurber House adventure. This is me (and me) standing by the packed car just before driving off from Montreal towards Columbus. I'm writing this from my clean Travelodge hotel room in a little Ontario town called Chatham, which is about 2 hours west of Toronto.

It's all so exciting - which is what I kept telling myself as I listened to music and drove 8 hours away from the comfort of home and into the absolute unknown of what will be my next 4 weeks!

Tomorrow I cross the US border and visit one of my oldest friends outside of Ann Arbor, MI - then Saturday - it's down to Ohio and I move into the Thurber House! Wow. It's finally really happening!

To be continued.....

WITH APOLOGIES TO MR. THURBER...

In one week I start my drive from Montreal to Columbus, Ohio to begin my month long residency at the Thurber House.

Above is one of Thurber's classic New Yorker cartoons, slightly altered to include yours truly inside his world. (I included this in my application for the residency thinking they'd either have my drawing pens confiscated - or laugh... lucky for me I still have my pens!)

While my intent is to spend my month reworking/editing my new book, MILO - I also hope to immerse myself as much as I can inside the world of James Thurber. Of course, living inside the attic he wrote about so often in "My Life and Hard Times" is a pretty great immersing!

By the way - I read a few chapters of My Life and Hard Times aloud last night at bedtime - and wife and I laughed so much. He describes his Columbus life with such a dry sense of humor - and his cartoons just add so much to the fun of each chapter.

And for those who may not know his work - here is the Thurber cartoon that I "adjusted" above:
Ah, Thurber. An ironic genius with sparse lines and no shortage of perfect words.

COUNTDOWN TO THURBER HOUSE

(I've had requests to re-post my POND SCUM book trailer so - CLICK the PIC to see it!)

My son leaves for camp in 2 days - which on my summer calendar is the first of two big "X" marks. The second "X" of course is my departure date to drive to Columbus, Ohio for my whole month of writing, cartooning and teaching as the James Thurber House Children's Author is Residence.

If all my Google-maps go as planned - I'll be arriving Saturday the 19th of July, which is highlighted brightly on my calendar like the Grand Marshall of my Summer parade!

Of course things still need to get done. My plate of other work needs to get cleared. The lawn needs to be mowed. And there are many movies to be seen before now and then.

But mid-July is looming and I can't wait to start this exciting trip and have a whole month of writing time while living at the Thurber House!

I've already thanked Lisa Yee for her lovely welcome letter. But a second shout-out of gratitude goes to local teacher/bloggers Mary Lee and Franki at the YEAR OF READING blog, who have also extended tour-guide invitations that include ice cream.

It's going to be a fantastic month! (and I say a yummy "Yes!" to ice cream!)

DAD'S DAY IN MAINE

Fathers Day happened again and once again it happened to me and it happened at the most beautiful spot in the universe - the place we go to in Maine (this same week every year).

My amazing wife and son always do something wonderful for me on the Sunday that is the first full day we awaken to the sounds of the gulls and sea. The past few years my son has taken it upon himself to honor the "day" by creating something for me that has to do with whatever book project I am currently working on.

Above is his wonderful clay tribute to my current book, MILO. (below you can see the cartoon it is based on). You should've seen my grin as he presented this to me - and in fact it's still plastered on my face.
Unrelated to Fathers day and Maine - I wanted to thank the always funny and extremely gracious LISA YEE for her blog post "welcome" re. my upcoming Writer In Residency at the Thurber House.

That's it for now - time to drive back to the cabin where the internet doesn't exist - just the ocean, sea gulls and our dog who has probably eaten the couch by now.

VIRTUAL SCHOOL VISIT

This is the face of an amazing teacher (and several partial faces of her equally amazing class!) Oh, and that's me in the corner taking the picture!

A few days ago I had the best time doing my FIRST web-chat with a class. Lori Lacombe, who by the way does an AMAZING crow call (as featured in my book!) first contacted me back in February to tell me that she and her 6th graders at Leonard Middle School in Old Town, Maine were loving POND SCUM. She sent along some class questions - which I promptly answered by email - and then she and I kept in touch as they kept reading and the year progressed.

Well we finally all "MET" the other day using i-Chat (Thanks again Mr. Keane for your techno-savvy). It was my first school visit where all I had to do was sit at my desk (which I straightened up just in case the camera caught a glimpse of my organization mess) and it was a total blast! I admit it was also kind of weird because I never knew whether I should be looking at the camera or the screen - so the whole "eye-contact" thing might've been a bit wonky.

The class asked thoughtful (and silly) questions and we got to discuss some of the deeper themes of the book: making connections; making friends; finding yourself - especially at an age that can make all of those things seem hopeless.

Thank you again Ms. Lacombe and thanks to the whole class for chatting and for for making new connections with me.

Happy Summer Reading!

CLOSE TO HOME

"BOOKS will take you ANYWHERE!"

Here's the thing: I travel a lot doing POND SCUM/CREATIVITY workshops and most of the time I am far from home (no complaints - I like hotel beds with TV remotes within easy reach!). What this means though - I hardly ever do local schools or libraries. Sure, I've done a hand-few but it's as if I'm a secret here in Montreal that only gets whispered about now and again.

Recently, however I was part of something AMAZING - the Blue Metropolis Literary Festival, which for the first time this year, decided to have a separate Children's Program. It was a wonderful experience - and I was amazed that my workshop was full to the brim with 360 kids!

(that's just HALF of the huge room filled with eager brains!)

TODAY was another special LOCAL visit - thanks to the lively, efficient and oh-so-thoughtful librarian, Debbie Poirier, I was booked into the amazing Saint John Fisher School just outside Montreal (easy drive = no airplane time!)

Reason ONE why this was nice: (see picture)

(nothing nicer to this author than welcoming treats! Thanks, Deb!)

Reason TWO: Another life-lesson in my ongoing "Go with the flow" experiences.

You see, I've got my presentation down pretty good - and it's filled with humor and interactivity and cartoons and...Me. But sometimes there's a glitch... no projector, or the mic I ordered doesn't work, or the kids think I'm somebody else whose written a book about Alien-Basketball players or something.

My motto: No Worries! I pride myself on staying Zen-like and making anything work....

So today - when we were presented with a small glitch - (no easel for the drawing board I use to do my cartooning)...We went quickly with Plan B: HUMAN EASELS! (if you look closely at the picture you can see I have a kid-volunteer holding the white board while I draw).

It was actually an additional funny thing that added laughs and extra kid-involvement to the morning - and I thank each and every one of you kids who helped me out! (I'll be happy to be an easel for you anytime!)

So winding down I guess it comes down to this: I love to travel...but there's no place like home....and a great librarian who serves snacks!

RED CEDAR AWARDS

Nothing makes a writer feel more like a WRITER than a labeled chair and 700 kids thrilled to be part of something incredible. POND SCUM was one of the nominated books in this year's Red Cedar Awards, which took place this past weekend just outside Vancouver.

The annual event brings kids from all around the area who take part in reading all of the nominated books and then voting for their favorite (both non-fiction and fiction). Now THAT is my kind of event - because the kids who take part are taking part out of total enthusiasm! And as you can imagine when you (well, when I) walk into a gymnasium filled with enthusiastic readers....it takes more than a chair to contain this fiction author!

Apart from the workshops we gave - there were the 2 ceremonies to announce the winners. The cool part was that the nominated authors got to walk into the ceremony in a procession fit for royalty! Each author was accompanied by kids holding a banner for their "author".

my wonderful sign holders

the hysterical Richard Scrimger

But WAIT! That's not all - instead of each nominated book simply being announced - the kids did a SKIT that introduced each book to the other kids in the audience. Some skits enacted something from the book, some read excerpts - but all of them were done by the kids who'd read the books and felt strongly about them.

Here's a picture of my great group - enacting a scene from my book that embraces the whole theme of the story. It was so perfect - and done with the kind of excitement that makes everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING) seem worthwhile.

Just look at them! So amazing!

Okay, so Pond Scum didn't win the fiction award. That honor went to THE CRAZY MAN, a beautiful book written by the amazing Pamela Porter (Congrats again, Pam!). But you don't need awards when you get to have the gift of a weekend filled with kids, other writers and the most lovely organizers you can imagine.

And for a guy who spends most days talking only to his dog and staring at a computer screen - it was great to meet some other authors and hpend time hearing about their own crazy lives living on the edge of sanity and silence!

Nominees Ken Oppel, Vicki Grant, moi

So - thank you to all the kids, teachers, librarians and organizers who took part in making and this year's Red Cedar Awards such a fantastic experience - and thanks to everyone who stopped by to say "hi"! It was a great weekend!

IT'S FOREIGN TO ME

It's been a cool day. The envelope from my agent contained a new book - MY book.
In German.

It's like publication day all over again! Seeing a book jacket is always a buzz. I'm thrilled my book got this foreign sale, and ever since knowing it was being translated - I've been wicked excited to find out how they were going to translate the title, POND SCUM?

You have to know one thing: I love my title. In fact, the title POND SCUM was the first thing I had before even knowing what my story was. The title dictated to me what kind of story I had to write. It was a gift from the sky (more to the point, a gift from my friend's pond where leeches started sucking on my legs and he said, "Watch out for the pond scum.")

Up until this morning I had no idea what the title would be. I didn't want to know. I love surprises...as long as I can control them!

And you know what? I'm fine that the 2 word simplicity of "POND" and "SCUM" have now become the multi-syllabic "Oliver und die Verschworung im Schilf". A bit less easy on the tongue - but hey, so is wiener-schnitzel!

After much speculation by my family and I over what exactly the title meant, my trusty translator spelled it out for me (or so I think): "Oliver and the Conspiracy in the Weeds", which certainly gives a plot-descriptive heads up to the reader, without conveying the "Eoww, gross" I so love.

But I'm not complaining. I'm thrilled. So break out the black forest cake and raise a glass.

Oliver und die Verschworung im Schilf has arrived....in Germany.

WRITE WHEN YOU GET WORK....

I realized a long time ago that aside from licking mailing labels and washing dishes at several of New England's finer eateries - my manual labor skill set could not compete with the sizzle of my brain, which was light years away from anything that involved soapy water and burned popover pans.

Being "creative" is a label we writers wear on our sleeves, or if it's summer, someplace that hopefully shows more skin. We creatives are branded and in today's marketplace we all know a brand is a good thing so perhaps we should work harder to exploit this Writer Brand and all get permanent WRITER TATTOOS to set us apart from the normal world. It would be like the scarlet "A", only it would be a "W" which would clearly mean to everyone we meet: "Watch out while I say something clever."

I have had many non-creative jobs and many more creative ones - and I guess the point is, I can't NOT be a writer because there really is nothing else my brain lets me be...except lazy, which I'm actually trying to perfect as my next "brand".

I write because I have to...Because I want to...Because I can't wash dishes very well or drive a school bus. Of course I can write about that school bus driver, who is also writer...who might just be a guy like me with a monster in his brain who devours any thoughts of mundane employment!

And on that note: Time to go write!

THURBER HOUSE PICKS ME!

I've been sitting on this news for a month now - keeping my promise not to blab until it was time to tell... Well my friends - that time is NOW!

(FANFARE) Alan Silberberg (that would be me) has been selected as this year's James Thurber House Children's Author in Residence. YAY!!!!!

You can read about the residency program and see the nice things the Thurber House folks say about me on their site, which now means I'll be showering them all with chocolate-type gifts when I arrive in Columbus, Ohio this summer.

I look forward to sharing all of the great details with you - but for anyone who has ever planned a bar mitzvah (insert wedding, anniversary dinner, huge party) - I am swamped in my own lovely chaos of prepping for this wonderful event (Saturday -eek!).

So for now - to see how I really feel - just CLICK ON THE HOUSE that I get to call home for four weeks this summer!

And now that the you know the news stay tuned for lots more about what it means to receive this incredible honor...and live in a house with ghosts!!

The BIG Question

That's just one reason why I do it.
Why do YOU write?

FIVE THINGS re. "ME"

Thanks to old pal Sully - I've been tagged with the "5 Things" meme thang. CLICK the image to see it BIG - or squint along with the rest!

And now the"tag, you're it" goes to 5 others - who hopefully have not yet fulfilled this enlightened task - and also will not hate me for it!
Comedic genius and peepster, Lisa Yee
Adrienne at "What Adrienne Thinks About That"
Gregory K. of "Gotta Book"
Crazed librarians, Carl and Bill of "Boys Read-Boys Rule!"
Illustrator and Montreal-bookmate, Susan Mitchell

WINTER OF DISCONTENT...AGAIN

It's snowing. Again. Which is on top of the "it's snowing again...and again...and again" that has become the mantra of this 2008 season of woe (or "whoa!" which is what I want to yell at the sky...again!)

It's not that I don't like Winter. Okay, that's exactly what it is. I hate Winter - and it certainly hates me. The sheer effort of the layers and sneezing and blankets and hot drinks that burn my tongue so that it doesn't regain taste until sometime around late April or early May - around the time ice cream is palatable again - thank you very much.

Winter drags on. Writing suffers. Exercise suffers. My family suffers (listening to me talk about Florida or Honduras or any number of desirably warmer locales than this one.)

And because I live in Montreal - Winter may be on the wane - but it's not even March and the promise of being able to wear less layers is months away. If we're lucky.

It's snowing again. I have things to get done. Shoveling is one of them. Looking for warm socks is another. Googling the temperatures of cities warmer than mine - that's just too depressing. But I might just take a peek anyway. Because anyplace warmer than here must be a happy place to live...minus any political- economic- social negatives, that is.

It's snowing again. And it will snow again after this. And you know what? I'll still be looking for warmer socks and burning my tongue on hot tea...and if I'm lucky it will be an early spring anyway...like mid-May - so I might as well quit complaining and get back to work - and take the dog for a walk in the beautiful new snowfall.

...Again.

BOYS READING POND SCUM

What's up with the cheeseburger? You'll have to go visit this amazingly awesome site to find out:
BOYS RULE! BOY'S READ!

BR-BR (as I refer to it) is run by two whacked out librarians at the Charlotte/Mecklenburg, NC public library. (if you don't believe me check out the photos of Carl and Bill found on their blog page!)

Their mission: "A place for boys to find terrific books and tell other boys about great reading."

And you know - anyone who holds high the task of getting GUYS to read - holds a high spot on my reading list.


Carl and Bill (who I met via JacketFlap - and if you haven't joined yet, why not?) seem dedicated and nutty - a perfect combination when it comes to dealing with any reader-population, but especially boys.

So - check out their site, spread the word, see why I like cheeseburgers better than pizza. I double dare ya!

AND WHAT'S YOUR PROCESS?

(click on image for full size!)

IS IT JUST ME?

THIS BOY'S LIFE

Confession: I never was a Boy Scout (though I do have a vague memory of being a Cub Scout - or maybe that's confused with tagging along with my sisters' Brownie Troop to go to the Wonder Bread factory that made your whole soul smell like hot, sweet dough!) I am thrilled to announce I have been asked by BOY'S LIFE magazine to write a short story for them.

The significance is two-fold: A) They asked me out of the blue (which is way better than sending hundreds of SASE submissions and keeping your fingers crossed) and B) it gives me a great mid-winter push to jump into the creative water with a "small" idea, something I can have a blast writing without the heavy baggage of hundreds of pages and plot details*!

(*this is not to diminish the difficulties of writing short fiction - which I know is no picnic and I have nothing but praise for anyone who can master telling a great story in mere pages)

So now I get to let my mind wander into strange and funny territory and then pitch a few ideas to the editor...I'm thinking something with Giant Bugs.....

I'll keep ya posted.

And in a totally unrelated burp: I just LOVE this animated video of the They Might Be Giants song "The Mesopotamians" - ya gotta love these guys!!! And a major shout-out to DRAWN for giving me the link to the animated genius of David Cowles.

KILLER TOFU

The thing about being a writer - and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone here - we want to create something meaningful; something that "says something"; something that leaves a low carbon footprint on the world that conveniently has our name on it!

Thanks to my pal Sulli (who once shared an office with me when we were but lads) I have been reminded of my lingering immortality through the above tee-shirt design that was linked to me this morning.

See, one of my early writing jobs in TV was working on the Nickelodeon cartoon DOUG. I knew the show's creator (Jim Jinkins) from when I interned my very first job - and after I found out he'd created this quirky toon I immediately got back in touch and was lucky to get hired to write a bunch of scripts.

Handed the task of writing the script that introduced Doug's favorite band, THE BEETS - I knew there should be a song in the episode and because the band was strange came up with a song called KILLER TOFU. Little did I know that this ode to junk food by way of alien bean curd would become one of the signature hits for the fictional band.

Thanks to Sulli's t-shirt link I did a quick search and found countless music videos by kids lip syncing, a few rock bands doing actual covers, a music video with a huge cardboard "killer tofu" and believe it or not - some kids have customized Guitar Hero with the song!

So here's the thing - yeah, thanks to POND SCUM I got my name in the Library of Congress. But it's Killer Tofu that's got me rockin' on forever!

Ah-Ee-Ooo....Killer Tofu!!!