Category: Uncategorized

January 14, 2017

Marching on Washington

Our country has a rich history of marching on Washington, to defend rights, to protest, to resist. Two picture books I have been reading capture this dynamic perfectly for young children.

The Youngest Marcher by Cynthia Levinson portrays the energy and idealism of children standing up for justice in the civil rights era. To counteract the cultural dissonance of our current President-elect criticizing civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, read this book to your children. Young Audrey Faye Hendricks participates in the 1963 Children’s March in Birmingham, Alabama, offering a powerful example of youth activism. With beautiful illustrations by Vanessa Brantley Newton, this book was just published this month by Atheneum/Simon & Schuster.

We March by Shane W. Evans shows a family rising early, traveling by bus, and participating in a civil rights march in Washington DC. Its spare words and vibrant illustrations leave a lot of room for the child reader to ask questions or let the story weave its spell. A perfect picture book (Roaring Brook Press, 2011).

The Women’s March is in one week. May it contribute to the great history of marches on Washington to rally, protest, and resist!

November 7, 2016

Parenting Through an R-Rated Presidential Campaign

So many parents are struggling to explain the dynamics of the tumultuous presidential campaign. Parenting Through an R-Rated Presidential Campaign, my op-ed in WBUR’s Cognoscenti, offers parents six strategies to help.

Kids will feel the blowback of the election long after the polls close tomorrow in this history-making election. They’re going to need us to decipher the noise and fall-out. We can model important elements like civil discourse and political engagement.

Voting together is a great start!

OpEd Project, Boston

*Last month, I participating in the OpEd Project’s “Write to Change the World” seminar. The mission of the OpEd Project is to diversify the voices we see and hear in our nation’s op-ed pages and media. The OpEd Project provided me knowledge, a boost of confidence, and mentoring from a mentor-editor. It’s an amazing organization and program! Read more about my experience here.

October 27, 2016

Pantsuit March: Joy in the Face of a Bruising Campaign Season

All the stars aligned, and there we were, marching over the Brooklyn Bridge to celebrate National Pantsuit Day and cheer for Hillary Clinton.

We were in New York City on a Friday night to see Hamilton.

As if that wasn’t charmed enough, we found out about a Saturday event: the Pantsuit March.

March organizers

I loved the details in the event posting for the Oct. 22 march:

Signs: We’ve got a bunch of awesome ones for everyone. Feel free to bring your own too, but let’s keep them positive. Love trumps hate.
-Weather: The great thing about pantsuits is that they can stand up to anything…sexism, inequality, and RAIN! Join us, rain or shine!

My wife Bonnie and I preparing to march!

Yes, it was blustery crossing that bridge with a festive group of men, women, children and a few dogs. There were colorful pantsuits, plastic pearl necklaces, and energetic chanting.

Joyful

In the face of so much negativity in this campaign, it was pure joy– something I won’t soon forget.

You can read more about the march here at the Huffington Post, which includes a full report of how it was organized.

October 12, 2016

Searching for My Sidekick, and finding him

Searching for My Sidekick: I wrote that essay three years ago, as I remembered my childhood friend Wilfredo on his October 12 birthday. I’d recently learned that he had died, and I had an unsettled feeling, wondering about the circumstances of his death at age 34.

Reuniting with Wilfredo at Lincoln Center in 1980

Many friends and readers responded to my essay, so I have to share this update. This past year I found Wilfredo’s sister, Jeannine. She is ten years younger than Wilfredo and I; she is an educator and a mom. She filled in a lot of missing pieces, about what a great brother Wilfredo was to her, about his career, his partner, his humor, his life in the Village, his battle with AIDS. We’ve shared stories and photographs.

I felt a sense of both sadness and peace, knowing how Wilfredo was loved, cherished, held by his family. Jeannine is now a friend and I’ve had the chance to talk on the phone to her and to their mother—the woman who pierced my ears in her Bronx kitchen so long ago! Oh, and Wilfredo has a handsome young basketball-playing nephew–named Will.

You can read my original essay published at she.com, Searching for My Sidekick, here.

Happy birthday, Wilfredo.

October 10, 2016

Write to Change the World: OpEd Project in Boston

Who gets to narrate the world?

That was one of the questions tackled in the day-long Write to Change the World seminar, led by the OpEd Project in Boston in early October.

Macarena Hernandez presents to the group

The mission of the OpEd Project is to “increase the range of voices and quality of ideas we hear in the world. A starting goal is to increase the number of women thought leaders in key commentary forums to a tipping point. We envision a world where the best ideas – regardless of where they come from – will have a chance to be heard, and to shape society and the world.”

This was not a writing workshop. It was a mind-shifting seminar that challenged us to raise our voices and add to the public discourse.

The seminar was geared not only to women, but to other voices that are under-represented in the public discourse, in places like the op-ed pages of newspapers, on radio and television commentary, and more.

We grappled with the question, what makes an expert? We were challenged to think about ourselves as “experts” in our respective fields (including higher education, children’s literature, immigration policy, legal protections for whistleblowers, faith-based initiatives, and medicine).

We learned so much through small group work, lots of interaction, and dynamic presentations by Becca Foresman, Chloe Angyal, and Macarena Hernandez. Resources on writing and submitting op-ed pieces were shared, and we came away inspired and empowered.

Presenters Becca Foresman, Macarena Hernandez, and Chloe Angyal of the Huffington Post

As one of our leaders shared, “If you say things of consequence, there may be consequences. The alternative is to be inconsequential.”

I loved the paired activities we did!

There are more pictures from the day here.

October 4, 2016

Writing Buzz: Autumn may be the best season for writing!

There is nothing like that clean-page feeling of fall! I have been energetically contributing to blogs, writing articles, and revising my middle grade novel ever since I turned that page to September.

A few links:

My article “Coming Out to My College Students–Again” sparked some great conversation on Twitter and other venues. Read it here.

Indulging my passion for New York City history, I published “Happy Land: Death of an Arsonist” on Medium.

I had the chance to merge my newest TV favorite, Stranger Things, through the lens of middle grade fiction on the Project Mayhem Middle Grade blog.

There’s more to come! I’ll soon be writing about my participation in the amazing Write to Change the World seminar by the OpEd Project.

Stay tuned.

September 7, 2016

Rainbow Flags & Children’s Books: Ireland

After a summer off from blog writing and teaching, I have that fresh and exciting September feeling!

A few insights from my summer travels in Ireland:

The bookstores of Ireland were a feast, both the independent ones as well as the chains. There was a wide variety of titles from Irish authors as well as authors from the States and other countries.

I also loved seeing familiar titles in Irish. Kids in Ireland study the Irish language all the way through secondary school, so the language is alive and well.

A familiar title, in Irish

I had tea with Irish author Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, author of two books I love: The Apple Tart of Hope (which I reviewed here) and Back to Blackbrick (with her third book coming soon). We had an energetic conversation about the book business in Ireland and the U.S., her books, time travel, and more.

Having tea with author Sarah Moore Fitzgerald

I was intrigued to find that the U.S. classic by Mildred D. Taylor, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, is an oft-used book in classrooms and in the leaving cert. exam in Ireland. It was in every bookstore I visited! I even found a dog-eared copy on my nephew’s bookshelf in Galway. I am amazed and delighted that such an iconic American book is so widely read by students in Ireland!

Ireland continues to delight and surprise in terms of its political climate and LGBT rights. If you haven’t seen the Noble Call speech on homophobia by “accidental activist” and drag queen Panti Bliss (aka Rory O’Neill), you’re in for a treat. I had the chance to visit Panti Bar, iconic LGBT hotspot and gathering place in Dublin. So much fun!

Rainbow flags in Dublin

I also had wonderful conversations with a gay teacher and others about how much has changed in Ireland over the last decade (including last year’s successful landmark marriage referendum).

My trip to Ireland was food for the soul and the mind. I spent time with family, with my sister, cousins, and more. I made new friends, immersed myself in the book scene, and brushed away a tear as I promised myself I’d return–soon!

May 24, 2016

Writing Middle Grade fiction with LGBTQ-parented families

Have you seen the Project Mayhem middle grade blog? It’s devoted to crafting middle grade fiction, and it’s chock full of resources, book reviews, author interviews, craft tips, and more. I’m part of the Project Mayhem team, and I recently shared some ideas from my presentation at the New England SCBWI conference.

Mary E. Cronin & Bonnie Jackman present at the New England SCBWI conference.

Many writers want to present a variety of family configurations when they are crafting middle grade fiction, but they’re not sure how to do it well.

Here are some tips on writing about middle grade characters with LGBTQ parents that I shared on the Project Mayhem blog to help!

Enjoy, and happy writing!

April 16, 2016

Writing about characters with LGBTQ parents

“Who’s your real mom?”

“What do you mean you don’t have a dad/mom?”

“Please bring these permission slips home to your moms and dads.”

Life is just different for kids of LGBTQ parents. They navigate awkward questions, tricky social situations, and heteronormative language on a daily basis.

That’s just some of the territory we’ll be covering in our presentation at the New England SCBWI conference at the end of the month in Springfield, MA. My wife Bonnie Jackman and I will be discussing sparks for inspiration as well as seeds of conflict in Re-imagining Families: Writing about characters with LGBTQ parents – a morning workshop on Sunday, May 1.

Bonnie and I presenting at the 2015 NESCBWI conference

We’ll offer insights and strategies for writing about families with same-sex and single parents, focusing on gay and lesbian-led families as well as those with bisexual and transgender parents. How can writers realistically portray characters with parents who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender? How will these various family structures affect our characters (from early childhood to middle grade through adolescence)?

Bonnie is a seasoned therapist and school counselor, with lots of anecdotes, developmental info, and insights to share. I’ll bring the craft perspective to the conversation. It should be a fun and lively session. Hope to see you there!

When Stars Align: diversity, writing & pop culture

As a teacher on summer hiatus, I’m grabbing all of the free hours I can muster, running as far and fast as I can with my middle-grade novel-in-progress, Tomfoolery. And the other day, the stars aligned to tell me, “Yes! Keep going. You are moving in the right direction!”

You see, my main character Tom’s world is being rocked by taking part in an art class in beautiful Provincetown. Suddenly, as a gay/questioning, artsy kid, he doesn’t feel so alone– he has found his people.

Provincetown

I wrote a scene the other day in which the art teacher referenced ballerina Misty Copeland. In response to someone using the term “firebird,” the teacher shows an image of Copeland leaping mid-air in flaming red regalia. I wrote some dialog from the teacher:

“Misty Copeland,” Will pointed. “African American soloist with the American Ballet Theater. Most famous role: Stravinsky’s Firebird.”

Misty Copeland

Finished with my writing time, I clicked on over to Facebook for some social interaction, and there on the headlines was Misty Copeland: newly-named as the first African American principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. I immediately went back to my manuscript and made that change!

In the middle of my novel, where my gay/questioning character feels a bit at sea, a bit too “different,” I had introduced an example of another artist who has also had experiences of feeling at sea, and different. And then, there she was, like a Firebird, soaring. Inspiring my character, inspiring me.

The stars aligned, in a little way– but it was enough for me. To keep me going, when I feel a bit at sea in the writing process.

FIREBIRD, by Misty Copeland. Illustrated by Christopher Myers.

I’m going to keep soaring.