My junior year of high school, I was fortunate enough to have Madeleine L'Engle as a creative writing teacher. It was probably one of the most exciting things to have happen in my young life. She was a total inspiration, and I probably learned more in that one year, than I've learned since. She was just a total joy to be around, and was so interested in everything that we had to say, and her critiques were spot on.
I had read A Wrinkle in Time and A Swiftly Tilting Planet in grade school, but the books of hers that I loved the most were her books about the Austin family. I sympathized with Vicky Austin when Maggy Hamilton moves in with her family. As I grew up reading the books, Vicky grew up. Along with Judy Blume's, and Norma Klein, her books guided me through my adolescence.
She was also married to Hugh Franklin who played Dr. Charles Tyler on All My Children. I don't know what excited me more when she came to teach. He even took over her class one day when she had a speaking engagement and couldn't teach. We were privileged enough to be able to have her read bits and pieces from her newest work in progress, which became A Severed Wasp.
It was the first time that I had been that close to a real writer, and to hear her read her words to us was something that I still treasure to this day. If I'm a writer at all, she had a great deal to do with helping to shape me. I read a quote in the Associated Press article that I felt encapsulated exactly who she was as a writer and as a person.
"In my dreams, I never have an age. I never write for any age group in mind. When people do, they tend to be tolerant and condescending and they don't write as well as they can write. When you underestimate your audience, you're cutting yourself off from your best work."
It's wonderful that 3 generations of children have fallen in love with her books, and I hope that future generations still find her books on shelves alongside Harry Potter and Her Dark Materials.
EKM
That had to be the coolest thing EVER. Wow. I LOVED A Wrinkle in Time, but when I tried to read it to my 5th graders a few years ago, they were bored. Too much build up, maybe, or they just didn't have the imagination. Sad.
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