What would you like readers
to take away from your book?
I want readers to see Billie
Holiday as a sensitive soul who, despite hardships, produced evocative music
that endures to this day. I encourage readers to listen to her music while
reading my book. They can view clips of her performances on youtube.
What did you learn about
yourself in terms of your strong points and weak points while writing this
book?
I discovered that I had a
gift for channeling my subjects. I wanted the poems to be as intimate as
Billie’s singing style. That’s partially why I wrote the poems in first person.
The process of writing the poems was quite magical—almost as if Billie were
singing her story in my ear. I poet dove into the project, listening to early
recordings, reading biographies and perusing oral histories. As I researched,
Billie seemed to whisper in my ear, and as I wrote, the she seemed to hum in
the background.
I wanted to conjure Billie
and let her speak through me. Her story had been told many times. Yet, her
legend has been sensationalized and mythologized. In her voice, her story rings
true. The resulting sequence of ninety-seven, first-person poems depict Billie
with rare empathy. The poems spotlight a youthful and exuberant Holiday before
heroin and hard living took a toll. I believe that’s how the jazz legend would
want to be remembered.
Of course, the pitfall of
channeling someone is becoming so invested in your subject that you lose
yourself.
As I wrote this book, I
actually learned more about Billie than I did about myself. And I learned that
we had at least two things in common: adoring dogs and detesting insects.
What was your greatest
roadblock and how did you overcome it?
Doubt almost stopped me from
pursuing the project. I think that I was destined to write Becoming Billie
Holiday. I cut my teeth on Billie’s last major recording, Lady in Satin. But it
was the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues that made me a Billie devotee. Billie’s
haunting voice and heartrending life story resonated with me. Lady Day became
my muse. Then, she prodded me to pen her memoir. I reluctantly agreed, but
almost abandoned the notion for fear that teens might not relate to a long-gone
jazz legend. Then, an eighth grader admiring the singer’s likeness at the Great
Blacks in Wax Museum convinced me of Billie’s enduring appeal.
Can you give us one do and
one don’t for those aspiring to be a writer?
Strive to create cinematic,
image-rich scenes. Don’t overuse adjectives and adverbs. Instead use powerful
verbs and specific nouns.
What one something about
writing do you wish other non-writers would understand?
Writing for young people is
not kids’ stuff. Writing children’s and young adult books is not easy. Writing
anything worth reading is hard work. Don’t rush. Take time to revise over and
over again.
What was the last book to
keep you up at night reading it?
Most of my reading is
research related to works-in-progress. Fortunately, I only write about what I
find interesting and can become passionate about. However, I rarely read late
at night. I’m an early riser who peters out before midnight.
What do you do to make time
for yourself?
Time for myself means time to
write or at least have an artist’s date. I live alone, but writing competes for
time with my responsibilities as an English professor and a mother of young
adults. I integrate and compartmentalize as much as possible. I reserve spring
and summer breaks to draft new manuscripts. For more on artist’s dates, read
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.
How can readers get in
contact with you?
cbwpoet@gmail.com
Before there was Billie
Holiday living blues, there was young Eleanora Fagan practically raising
herself on Baltimore’s streets. She hit New York just as the Harlem Renaissance
was giving way to the Great Depression. Luckily, Eleanora could sing. With a name
borrowed her favorite movie star and a voice made for the microphone, Billie
first recorded as a teen. By age 25, she had shared the spotlight with the
era’s hottest bands. The fictional verse memoir Becoming Billie Holiday traces
Eleanora’s journey into legend. The book’s poems are titled after her songs,
paired with sepia-toned paintings, and narrated by the singer herself. This is
Billie at her peak—before heroin and hard living took their toll. A collaboration with illustrator Floyd
Cooper, Becoming Billie Holiday won a Coretta Scott King Author Honor from the
American Library Association and received several best book of the year nods.
Critics sang the book’s praises:
A remarkable
tribute...—Kirkus Reviews Editor’s Choice, starred review
Intoxicating...—VOYA
Captivating...—School Library
Journal Best Book of the Year, starred review
A book for the
ages...—teensreadtoo.com, 5 stars, Gold Award
Deserves a Pulitzer
Prize…—allaboutjazz.com
Capitol Choices Best Book of
the Year
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