Karen Hesse
In 2002, University of Maryland alumnae Karen Hesse was among 24 American scientists, scholars, artists, writers, musicians and activists to receive what is arguably the nation's most prestigious private award given for personal creativity and achievement, a MacArthur Fellowship.The $500,000 "no strings attached"grants are given annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to individuals who, according to the foundation, "lift our spirits, illuminate human potential, and shape our collective future."
Hesse, a writer of children's and young adult novels, was born in Baltimore, Md., and earned a bachelor's degree in English in 1974. Now she writes from her home in Brattleboro,Vt. How did this woman from seemingly ordinary circumstances become an artist recognized as an exceptionally creative national treasure? How did Karen Hesse learn to follow her interior voice?
Hesse may have grown up in a Baltimore rowhouse, but her imagination took her far beyond the city's gray streets, and her writerly instincts appeared at a young age. "I'm not certain when I realized I wasn't like my friends," she says."From an early age, it felt right to keep my inner world a secret. As a result, people thought of me as shy; I was an observer of life more than a full-fledged participant."
Leaving Baltimore Behind
On her sometimes unhappy Baltimore street, however, Hesse experienced sublime communications with another realm. One night after a celebration of the Jewish holiday Purim, she stayed up late, peering out the window to see angels who were to come out at midnight. She recalls that as she watched, the roof of the sky opened and she could see angels descending. This cherished gift has never left her."I think that this receptivity to mystical experience also welcomes the unconventional reality of fictional characters and worlds," she says.
Hesse caught the drama bug in high school and initially pursued a theatre major at Towson. But she left the actor's life behind when she met Randy Hesse. The couple eloped in 1971, a time of particular danger for young American men, who were being assigned so-called "lottery numbers" to determine the order of draft call-ups for the Vietnam War. Randy Hesse's assignment aboard a World War II-vintage destroyer often landed him in dry dock, but the ship had standing sailing orders for Vietnam."I left school for two years and waited there, in Norfolk, Va.," recalls Karen, "in a tiny apartment, in a volatile neighborhood, as Randy's ship would sail in for a week, leave for two weeks, come back for a month, leave for a week. And always the threat of Vietnam hung over our heads. I did a lot of growing during those years.That growth is certainly reflected in my work today."
After her husband's discharge from the Navy, both Karen and Randy enrolled at the University of Maryland."I loved my years at the university," she says."I never had a sense of isolation.The English department provided me with one circle of friends, the library [her work-study assignment] presented me with a separate circle of friends. Fellow students gave generously of their ideas.The entire atmosphere fostered exciting discussions and enhanced my understanding of the world."
In that atmosphere, Hesse also gained confidence as a writer."The writing program, under the wise and gentle tutelage of then-director Rod Jellema, provided a fertile bed in which writers were encouraged to grow," she says. Hesse developed her poetic skills, a sensitivity to the nuances of language apparent in her books, particularly ones in which the entire story is told in blank verse.
After Randy Hesse graduated from Maryland, the couple and their two cats took a six-month camping trip across the country.They ended their travels in Brattleboro."I knew as soon as we crossed the Connecticut River from New Hampshire into Vermont that I'd come home," Karen says. In Brattleboro, among the numerous jobs she held was that of a typesetter, which led her to believe she could succeed as a children's book writer."Some of the work I set struck me as very unsatisfying," she recalls. "I thought I could write at least as well, if not better."
This nascent feeling about her own abilities came into full expression after the births of her daughters, who now are young adults."When I began reading children's literature to my daughters, I felt I'd discovered at last the key to releasing my secret inner world," she says.
Since her first book, Wish on a Unicorn, was published in 1991, Hesse has published 13 novels and four picture books. In addition to her skills with language, Hesse draws on her ability to delve deeply into herself to create fiction."The feeling I get when I write is akin to dropping through a trap door into the flow of an underground river," Hesse says."I stand in the current and just as a plant absorbs nutrients and energy from its surroundings, I absorb the energy of this subterranean river through my soul.This is not willed, it simply happens."
To read her books is to be caught up in that same feeling of immersion. She tackles difficult and often grim subjects, evoking what her editor calls "a profound and visceral sense of place." Place in Hesse's books includes not only physical locations from Russia to Vermont to a sailing ship in the Pacific Ocean to the windswept Aleutian Islands, but also emotional and mental terrain. In Phoenix Rising, death and hope after a nuclear disaster; the question of what it means to be human in The Music of Dolphins; and how human beings can transcend the most devastating circumstances in Out of the Dust.
Putting the Grant in Perspective
Imagine being at home one day and the phone rings."It's for you," says your spouse.The person on the other end of the line says,"This is the MacArthur Foundation.We've decided to give you a half-million dollar grant."That's basically what happened to Karen Hesse. When she got the call, Hesse was setting out to make a speech at a library conference in Baltimore."The phone call came moments before I boarded the train," she said."Randy walked me to the train station. I'm not certain my feet ever made contact with the sidewalk. I'm amazed I remembered to breathe. Once on the train I gazed in wonder out the window. Every sense was heightened.The smells from the lounge car, the fine tracery of autumn light in the trees.The cushion of the train seat. Not often are sensations experienced with such an acute awareness.The recognition by the MacArthur Foundation rocketed me into that rare hyper-aware state.Amazing."
For more information about the MacArthur Fellowship "Genius" Award, click here.
Reviews
Come On, RainKaren Hesse
Pictures by Jon J. Muth
In a hot city in the summer, a child spies the clouds rolling in. "Come on, rain!" she whispers. The neighborhood girls pull on their bathing suits and as the dust dances with the first rain drops, the friends dance and play in the streaming rain. The mammas join the girls in sweet abandon. The city street fills with the laughter and joy that only a summer shower can bring. Hesse writes beautiful words to capture the anticipation and exhilaration. "We turn in circles, glistening in our rain skin." The before, during and after rain scenes are spare watercolors producing the sequence of endless heat, a cloudburst and happy wetness. Ethnic diversity is represented among the characters with color coordination for each mother-daughter pair. The book is an eloquent celebration of a shared and simple experience. 1999, Scholastic Press, $15.95. Ages 5 to 8. Reviewer: Jacki Vawter
ISBN: 0590331256
Best Books:
The Best Children's Books of the Year, 2000 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States
Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
Choice List, 2000 ; Children's Literature; United States
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, November 1998 ; Cahners; United States
State Reading Lists:
2X2 Reading List, 2000 ; Texas
A Light in the Storm: The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin
Karen Hesse
Deep, literary, and soulful, Ms. Hesse once again holds us in her spell as she reconstructs the past at an intense time in United States history. Amelia Martin is fifteen years old, and she lives with her father and mother on Fenwick Island in Delaware. She works as a teacher and, more importantly, helps her father as assistant Keeper of the Light, Fenwick Island Lighthouse. Her first diary entry is Christmas eve, 1860, and the country is on the brink of civil war. We come to know the many daily rituals of tending the Lighthouse, the attention always on subtle nuances of weather and sky, wave and water. Her parents' relationship is torn apart by the issue of slavery, in the very same manner as the country itself, and so it is that the shadow of divorce mirrors the painful situation of our country at that time. The tapestry of plot and subplot is woven with brilliant craftsmanship--all in the simple language of a young, intelligent girl. There is a historical note at the end, explaining the history of the Civil War. This title is part of the distinguished "Dear America" series. 1999, Scholastic, $10.95. Ages 10 up. Reviewer: Nancy Partridge
ISBN: 0590567330
Best Books:
Books for You: An Annotated Booklist for Senior High, Fourteenth Edition, 2001 ; National Council of Teachers of English; United States
Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
Middle And Junior High School Library Catalog, Supplement to the Eighth Edition, 2001 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2000 ; National Council for the Social Studies; United States
State Reading Lists:
Maryland Children's Book Award, 2002 ; Maryland
The Music of Dolphins
Karen Hesse
The stories of children raised by animals are often heartbreaking, but the animals are usually apes, or bears, or wolves. Mia has been raised since the age of four by a pod of dolphins, and when humans discover her, she has no memory of any other family. Her story is beautifully written in three voices from the same source. Mia's thoughts when she writes as a dolphin are printed in italics, and she is articulate and fluent. As she learns English, the print is large and the language childish. Gradually she adjusts to life on land with its rules and restrictions. The print changes to normal type size as her language ability changes. The scientists who have been studying her begin to demand behavior she can't reconcile with her dolphin ways. She begs to be set free to live her real life--in the sea, with her dolphin family. 1996, Scholastic, $14.95. Ages 12 up. Reviewer: Judy Silverman
This is a truly enchanting and provocative story of a human girl raised by dolphins from the age of 4. When the scientists begin studying her, she amazes them with her unique abilities. She plays music, she learns speech and complex ideas, but when they restrict her movements, she cannot reconcile that with the dolphins' free ways. While still in her primitive state, Mila's responses are shown in very large type; as her language acquisition improves, the typeface reflects her sophistication. But Mila knows she will always be an object for study and takes the only path that will allow her to be happy. 1996, Scholastic, $14.95. Ages 10 to 14. Reviewer: Jan Lieberman
ISBN: 0590897977
Best Books:
Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K--Grade 6, 12th Edition, 1999 ; National Council of Teachers of English; United States
Best Children's Books of the Year, 1996 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States
Books in the Middle: Outstanding Books, 1996 ; Voice of Youth Advocates; United States
Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
Choice List, 1997 ; Children's Literature; United States
Instructor (Intermediate), 1996 ; Instructor (Intermediate); United States
Lasting Connections, 1996 ; American Library Association; United States
Middle And Junior High School Library Catalog, Eighth Edition, 2000 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
Not Just for Children Any More, 1999 ; Children's Book Council; Unites States
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books, 1996 ; Cahners; United States
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, September 1996 ; Cahners; United States
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, November 1996 ; Cahners; United States
School Library Journal: Best Books, 1997 ; Cahners; United States
School Library Journal: Best Books for Young Adults, 1996 ; Cahners; United States
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
The Golden Kite Award Honor Book 1996 Fiction United States
State Reading Lists:
Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award Reading List, 1998-1999 ; Arkansas
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award, 1998 ; Vermont
Great Stone Face Award, 1997-1998 ; New Hampshire
Indian Paintbrush Book Award, 1999 ; Wyoming
Lone Star Reading List, 1998-1999 ; Texas
Maine Student Book Award, 1997-1998 ; ME
The Nene Award, 2002 ; Hawaii
Utah Children's Book Awards, 1999 ; Utah
Stowaway
Karen Hesse
Drawings by Robert Andrew Parker
Fact: one Nicholas Young, age eleven, stowed away on H.M.S. Endeavor in 1768 and ended up spending three years sailing around the world with Captain James Cook. Karen Hesse takes this tantalizing tidbit of history and expands it into a young boy's voyage of discovery, both personal and geographic. In the course of reading Nick's journal we learn that he is escaping from something that makes the rats, bugs and scurvy of the trip personally worthwhile, at least at first. Later, after Nick has met and lost his Tahitian friend Tarheto, the boy begins to distinguish between injustices and to understand the value and the costs of his original rash action. Nick becomes secondary, however, to what Hesse is really doing: taking her readers on a very exciting and illuminating journey with Captain James Cook. Parker's illustrations and an evocative cover and endpapers help to make the book the most handsome of packages, too. 2000, Margaret K. McElderry Books, $17.95. Ages 10 up. Reviewer: Kathleen Karr
ISBN: 0689839871
Best Books:
The Best Children's Books of the Year, 2001 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States
Capitol Choices, 2000 ; The Capitol Choices Committee; United States
Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, Supplement, 2002 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
Choice List, 2001 ; Children's Literature; United States
Middle And Junior High School Library Catalog, Supplement to the Eighth Edition, 2001 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, October 2000 ; Cahners; United States
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, November 2000 ; Cahners; United States
School Library Journal: Best Books, 2000 ; Cahners; United States
State Reading Lists:
Massachusetts Children's Book Award, 2003 ; MA
A Time of Angels
Karen Hesse
This magical book tells the story of Hannah Gold, a young Russian-American Jewish girl who lives in Boston with her two sisters, her great-aunt, and a family friend during World War I. Their mother was trapped in Russia by the Bolshevik Revolution and their father enlisted in the U.S. Army. As they struggle to make ends meet, Hannah longs for the time when her parents will come back and lies awake at night waiting. On some nights, she sees angels in the sky. When a lethal flu epidemic hits Boston, Tanta Rosa and Hannah's sisters fall ill. When Tanta Rosa dies, their family friend Vashti fears for Hannah's life and sends her away. Hannah is helped at the train station by a young girl with violet eyes. After getting sick on the train, Hannah is taken to a Red Cross hospital where an elderly German man named Klaus Gerhart takes her under his wing. Through her new "Uncle" Klaus, she discovers that there are humans on all sides of the war with family just like her father. When she is well enough to travel, the young girl with violet eyes returns to take her home and Hannah realizes the girl is actually an angel. This touching novel provides a realistic glimpse of the World War I era and explores the development of relationships between friends and family in ethnically diverse neighborhoods. 1995, Hyperion Books for Children, $15.95, $15.89 and $5.95. Ages 10 to 14. Reviewer: Alexandria LaFaye
ISBN: 0786800879
ISBN: 0786820721
Best Books:
Teachers' Choices, 1996 ; International Reading Association; United States
Young Adults' Choices, 1997 ; International Reading Association; United States
Out of the Dust
Karen Hesse
The always-inventive author of A Time of Angels has done it again. She's found a new approach to telling a compelling historical tale. In this "novel" she renders the story of a young girl struggling to survive the dust bowl through first person narrative poems. Young Billie Jo tells her story in a series of thoughtful and touching poems as she tries to come to terms with the horrific death of her mother, the loss of her talent to play the piano, and the threat of losing her father to long cancer. In this testament to the strength of one girl's will, Hesse takes a poetic turn at telling the story of the Oklahoma dust bowl during the Great Depression. 1997, Scholastic, $15.95. Ages 10 up. Reviewer: Alexandria LaFaye
This Newbery Medal winner is written as a series of free verse poems by fourteen-year-old Billie Jo who creates incredible images to keep her soul alive in the bleakness of the Oklahoma Dust Bowl during the Depression. Through her eyes we see the dust's coming "like a fired locomotive" that "hisses against the windows" and feel its textures as "my lowered face was scrubbed raw by dirt and wind. / Grit scratched my eyes, / it crunched between my teeth...." She tells of its treachery too, until it becomes almost a character in the book; a setting threatening takeover. And it might, if the character's voice and plot weren't so strong. Billie Jo writes of how she accidentally sets her mother on fire with a bucket of burning kerosene, how she fights to put out the flames, and is scarred physically and emotionally as her mother, nine months pregnant, delivers and dies in agony. "She smells like scorched meat. / Her body groaning there, / it looks nothing like my ma. / It doesn't even have a face." Billie Jo's swollen lumps of hands won't let her help her suffering mother, or play the piano, which once comforted her. The novel is harsh and ugly, strong stuff that made my eleven-year-old cry when we read it aloud. But the similes shine like jewels in dark caves, lighting the heroine, finally, to a resolution she can live with. 1997, Scholastic, $15.95. Ages 11 up. Reviewer: Susie Wilde
ISBN: 0590360809
Best Books:
Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K--Grade 6, 12th Edition, 1999 ; National Council of Teachers of English; United States
Best Books for Young Adults, 1997 ; American Library Association-YALSA; United States
Best Children's Books of the Year, 1997 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States
Booklist: Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 1997 ; American Library Association; United States
Books in the Middle: Outstanding Books, 1997 ; Voice of Youth Advocates; United States
Capitol Choices, 1997 ; The Capitol Choices Committee; United States
Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
Lasting Connections, 1997 ; American Library Association; United States
Middle And Junior High School Library Catalog, Eighth Edition, 2000 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
Not Just for Children Any More, 1999 ; Children's Book Council; Unites States
Notable Books for Children, 1998 ; American Library Association-ALSC; United States
Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts, 1998 ; National Council of Teachers of English; United States
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, August 1997 ; Cahners; United States
Publishers Weekly, The Cuffies: Children's Booksellers Choose Their Favorite (and not-so-favorite) Books of the Year, 1997 ; Cahners; United States
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, September 1997 ; Cahners; United States
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Award Winner 1998 Young Adult Readers United States
John Newbery Medal Winner 1998 United States
Maine Student Book Award Third Place 1998 Maine
State Reading Lists:
Buckeye Children's Book Award, 2001 ; Ohio
Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award Reading List, 1999-2000 ; Arkansas
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award, 1999 ; Vermont
Great Stone Face Award, 1998-1999 ; New Hampshire
Indian Paintbrush Book Award, 2000 ; Wyoming
Kentucky Bluegrass Award, 1999 ; Kentucky
Maine Student Book Award, 1998-1999 ; ME
Updated 09/25/02
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