Read Christopher Paul Curtis Online

Authors: Bucking the Sarge

Tags: #Flint (Mich.), #Group Homes, #Fraud, #Family, #Mothers, #People With Mental Disabilities, #Juvenile Fiction, #Special Needs, #Social Issues, #Mysteries & Detective Stories, #Fiction, #United States, #Parenting, #Business Enterprises, #Humorous Stories, #Parents, #People & Places, #General, #African Americans, #Family & Relationships

Christopher Paul Curtis (28 page)

Q. All three of your novels have been set in Flint—
The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963
in the 1960s,
Bud, Not Buddy
in the 1930s, and
Bucking the Sarge
in the present. Why do you think Flint is such a rich source for you?

A. Why not Flint? Every city and town has a million untold, interesting stories. I think they just need a witness or novelist or storyteller to bring them out and tell them in the proper way. Many times students will tell me that nothing exciting ever happens in their lives and that there is nothing for them to write about. I tell them that's nonsense. Even the most mundane life is interesting and unique because there is no one else on Earth, Pluto, or Mars who has ever lived life the same way or reacts the same way. I can proudly say, “There is no one else in Flint who has lived the life I have.” But so can Trey of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, or Akbar of Galesburg, Illinois, or Chelsea of Windsor, Ontario, or Richie's daughter of Sebastopol, California. It's an accident of birth that I write about Flint, but it is no accident that I find so much about my hometown to be beautiful and worth writing about.

Q. What do your “Flintstone” friends and family think of the picture of their town in your novel?

A. I have gotten no feedback on my writing about Flint from fellow Flintstones. I think there are several reasons for this. First, I don't see many of my old friends and acquaintances anymore, so I'm not around to get any feedback if there is indeed any. Some people may agree with what I have to say about Flint today. If someone objected to my view, I would say that I don't believe my writing about Flint is negative; I try to portray my hometown in an honest way, scars and all.

But I think I'd be the last one to hear anything negative about my writing, which pertains not only to comments about Flint. People who strongly dislike my writing wouldn't come out to hear me speak, and most people consider it rude to say anything negative about another person, especially if that person is around to hear what they have to say! So I imagine if there is a negative comment about my writing on Flint, that one person, besides being a complete loser and idiot, will probably say it behind my back. Which is fine with me. I'd prefer believing my writing is universally adored. Sure, that's delusional, but what's a man got if you take away his dreams?

Q. Do you plan to write about Flint in your future books?

A. I'm sure I'll branch out, but there are still so many stories that can be told about Flint. And what is it that that great football coach, whose name escapes me at the moment, once said? “Go home from the dance with the girl who brung ya.” I think Flint has brung me a long way, so I'll continue to be loyal.

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Published by Laurel-Leaf
an imprint of Random House Children's Books
a division of Random House, Inc.
New York

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents
either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is
entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2004 by Christopher Paul Curtis

Laurel-Leaf and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

www.randomhouse.com/teens

Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at
www.randomhouse.com/teachers

RL: 5.3
eISBN: 978-0-307-56725-3
May 2006

v3.0

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