LiveWorld Transcripts

	NYPL presents
	Christopher Paul Curtis Author Christopher Paul Curtis
	August 7, 2002

New York Public Library Welcomes author Christopher Paul Curtis

Page 1 of 8

NYPL: Kenny and his family have an eventful car trip to Alabama in "The Watsons Go To Birmingham - 1963," and Bud (don't ever call him Buddy) travels across Michigan to search for the man he believes to be his father in "Bud, Not Buddy." Christopher Paul Curtis' books dance with history, music and adventure, and have won many awards. Welcome, Christopher!

Christopher Paul Curtis: Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be here.

Strappy: Why do you write for children and not for adults?

Christopher Paul Curtis: Originally, I didn't think I wrote for children. I think that a good story can be read by anybody. If the story is compelling and interesting, it can be read by children and adults. I don't really differentiate that much. The book I'm working on now is for older readers - an actual young adult book. It's called "Bucking the Sarge" and it's narrated by a 15-year old, so it's a somewhat older narrator. But again, I think a good story can be read by anybody.

Linz: Do you write on a computer?

Christopher Paul Curtis: When I first start out writing, I write longhand with my pen and my legal pad, in the library. I have found that the timing and the pacing of writing by hand works for me. I can tell if I've written something on the computer, or written it by hand. There's a much better flow when I write by hand, probably because it's slower to write longhand and you have time to think more. My pads are always a mess! I have arrows leading to here and there. Once it's done, I type it into the computer, and I edit from there. If it weren't for computers, I would NOT be a writer! My typing is so bad!

Leah: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Christopher Paul Curtis: I think I first knew when I was working in the factory in Flint, and I would spend my breaks writing. Writing seemed to have a therapeutic effect on me. I hated being in the factory, and writing was an escape. As long as I was writing, I was in a different world. So I knew then that writing was something very special for me. Even then, though, I didn't imagine that I'd be able to make a living at it.

Alex: Was there ANY one person or event in your life that influenced you most as you developed into an author?

Christopher Paul Curtis: My wife was probably the person who influenced me the most. Writing is a very lonely profession or hobby. You're never quite sure if what you're writing is any good. But when you have someone who's very supportive and who has more faith in you than you have in yourself, then it's easy to take the next step and to call yourself a writer. So my wife, actually, gave me a year off work to try to write a book. If she hadn't suggested it, it would never have occurred to me to do it. I'd still be in a warehouse or loading trucks, instead of doing something I love - writing.

Melissa: Hi, Mr. Curtis! I am from New York City and I'm wondering what was your favorite book as a child?

Christopher Paul Curtis: Melissa, I didn't have books that I really loved as a child. I read comic books, Mad magazine, National Geographic, and Sports Illustrated. I read a lot, but books didn't really touch me, probably because there weren't a lot of books for or about young black children. That's not to say that blacks have to read 'black' books, but you do need to read something that really touches you to develop that love for books. Sadly, that's still the case that there aren't many books for young blacks. I'm really the only African-American who writes in this genre for this age group. It's a problem we have to overcome. We need a lot more representation in books. It makes reading much more interesting if you have a wide variety of authors.

Page 1 of 8