University Settlement Center in Manhattan
with Author Linda Sue Park
May 12th 2004

"The Coolest Job in the World"

Linda Sue Park, a children's and young-adult author, met with two groups of young readers at University Settlement Center in lower Manhattan as part of the Foundation's Settlement House Program. The groups ranged in age from nine to 12, numbering approximately 15 each.

One of the first questions from a very excited young boy was, "Are you the author? A real author? I've never met an author before!" He, like all the other children in the groups, was very impressed with meeting a real, genuine, in-the-flesh author.

Ms. Park began by asking the students if they, like her, had parents from a different country. Was English a second language for them or their parents or grandparents? She told the children that she was from Korea, taught them some Korean words, and spoke to them about holidays in her home country. To accompany her stories, Ms. Park showed the groups images from Korea, her in-laws in Ireland, her children, and her dog Fergus.

She spoke to the students about her life as a writer of children's books, which she claimed is "the coolest job in the world. What other job would allow you to work whilst being in your pajamas?" She said that when she writes, she talks aloud to Fergus to help formulate her story ideas. She spoke about the research that goes into her books, and the details and the history contained within them.

Many of Ms. Park's books and imaginings are inspired by old Korean tales, folklore, and the wonders of ancient Asian culture. One startling discovery for the students was that Korean pottery (or "China," as the word for the pottery and the country were now the same) of the 11th and 12th century was so valuable that a vase of china was worth more than a vase of the same size made from gold. She also talked about baseball and soccer and she explained the rules of kite fighting to the enthralled crowd. Kites with razor blades fighting in the sky! She also taught a wonderful (and noisy!) Korean chanting game.

Along the back walls of the room, students proudly displayed some brilliant Haikus that they had written. Both groups had also prepared questions for Ms. Park beforehand. "What is your favorite wild animal?" "How many books have you published?" But the best question of all had to be: "Once you become an author, does it feel different to being a regular person?"

Ms. Park encouraged the groups to read as much as they possibly could, promising that whatever they were interested in, there was a book out there for them. She encouraged those most interested in being authors to practice their writing over and over again and not to get discouraged. As she explained, "I am not a writer. I am a re-writer. I re-write more than I write. Writing, like learning a sport, or playing a musical instrument, or any other discipline, is something that you have to practice!"

Photo credit: Matt Carson