She goes off to Oberlin at a time when it might've been difficult to understand a choice like that. And she makes a choice to step away from bringing up Melody. SIMON: Iris says, recollecting when she found out she was pregnant, she says, 15 and I wasn't even anybody yet. And what does it mean to be a family? You know, what does it mean to be a family that comes together suddenly through the birth of a child by two children? And the narrative revolves around the families. They both love her, but how do I put this? She became a part of their lives in a way they hadn't planned for. She is the daughter of Iris, her mother, and Aubrey, her father. SIMON: Let's tell a little of that backstory. And in that scene, Melody is announcing herself - capital H, you know? - and saying, this is who I am, and I come through you, but I'm not necessarily of you. And I think when I was writing "Red At The Bone," one of the things I was thinking about is the way we can sometimes try to put our own backstories on our children. WOODSON: I think she wants to say, I'm here, and I am my own narrative.
SIMON: What does Melody want to tell her family, her mother with this entrance? So here is a girl who's 16 and having her coming-of-age ceremony, and she's being introduced to society via Prince on orchestra because, of course, her parents don't allow her to have the words to the song. And I think that the juxtaposition between that song and the ceremony that she was a part of was really interesting to me in talking about the way cultures and generations clash and what the outcome of those clashes are. WOODSON: No, and Melody is definitely not a character from a Disney princess story. And she chooses a Prince song in which to descend the stairs - not exactly a song from a Disney princess film, is it? Sixteen-year-old named Melody - it's her debut - a cotillion, I guess. SIMON: Tell us about the very opening of the story. JACQUELINE WOODSON: Thanks for having me. Jacqueline Woodson, who wrote "Another Brooklyn," a previous novel for adults, and novels for young readers that include "Brown Girl Dreaming" joins us from New York. Jacqueline Woodson's new novel is "Red At The Bone." It tells the stories of two families in Brooklyn, brought together by a fleeting love that produces an enduring child and family chronicles that weave inside the stories of history and race in America. One of the most popular authors of novels for young readers has a new novel for older readers.
0 kommentar(er)
