My infatuation with Susan Cooper's books began in seventh grade, when Mrs. Grant saw me pulling a Newbery Prize-winning novel called
The Grey King from the language arts classroom bookshelf, and recommended that I begin with the first book in the series (
Over Sea, Under Stone) instead. The children have taken to them as well. When Gwendolyn was little, I read her the series; since then, we've grown dependent upon the fine audio versions, which Linus, in particular, revisits again and again.
When I read that Susan Cooper would be appearing in Houston as part of Inprint's reading series for children, Cool Brains!, I knew that I'd be taking the older children. Fortunately, as today approached, Jen decided that she would attend the reading as well, and we made it an excursion for the entire family.
Though the day was wet, we made good time, arriving a good ten minutes before the reading began. Perhaps because of the threat of even worse weather, the reading wasn't particularly well attended. I ran into my friend Rich Levy, the Executive Director of Inprint, and we were able to catch up (talking about family, writing, and letterpress, as usual) for a few minutes before and after the reading.
The presentation itself was marvelous -- we were all engrossed (including Margaret, who had finally fallen asleep after "totally freaking out" for much of the drive, and spent the reading dozing in my arms). Susan Cooper began by recounting her childhood recollections of the Blitz, and her considerations about how the experience of being awakened by air raid sirens to shelter in her back yard influenced her writing. (This plainly impacted the conception of history which appears in her books: while the waves of attackers from the east who gradually subside, settle, or are driven back is primarily based on the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and the like, it clearly applies to WWII as well.)
She also talked about her life as a student (attending lectures in Oxford from Tolkien and Lewis) and a journalist (with her first boss, Ian Fleming, and her first trip to America and Texas, when she covered the Jack Ruby trial in Dallas; she was the only woman in the press pool, where he winked at her). Ultimately, she introduced and began reading from
Ghost Hawk, her new novel (and the first set in the Western Hemisphere). We were enthralled with the reading, as much as the talk.
At the end of the presentation, we contributed to the Q&A session (Jen closed it out by talking about reading the novels as a child, and seeing how our children love the books made her curious whether Susan Cooper was at all influenced by the reactions of her own children and grandchildren). Then we were able to go up and get our books signed. Each of the children took a copy of their favorite, and after buying a copy of
Ghost Hawk, we even had enough to get one inscribed "to Cinq -- someday." She was hugely welcoming, inviting the children to come around and get a photograph in the dark theater with her. (She even asked Margaret to sit on her lap -- but due to sensory overload, Greta balked.) It was a splendid and memorable family experience, and I hope the children will remember it as they continue to read Susan Cooper's work. (I hope even more that the quality of her prose and imagination influences -- or suffuses -- their own writing and interior life.)
M: Do we have King Arthur in our car?
Linus: (over dinner) I think this is the longest I've ever been away from my Cragger's Command Ship.
