I first met David L. Harrison when I was a little girl attending the Children’s Literature Festival of the Ozarks. Although I laughed at his humor and learned from his wisdom then, I never realized the magnitude of his brilliance until I saw him there again many years later while attending as a Children’s Lit professor. David just lives “down the road” from us, in Springfield, MO, and our paths have crossed multiple times as we have a common vision for fostering literacy and enthusiastically sharing a love of reading and writing with teachers and students. Each time that we do, David is gracious and kind enough to visit with us and allow us to get photos with him. He expressed that same kindness when we asked if we could interview him for our journal. What follows is our conversation:
Julie: I know your love of literacy and belief in poetry for teaching fluency have taken you literally all over the world. However, as I mentioned, you live just “down the road” from us. What is a typical day like for you there?
David: Julie, I’m grateful to you and Jennifer for making space for me in The Missouri Reader. I’m delighted to be here! My work week is Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. It is 33 feet from my bed to my computer. Before I go to sleep I decide what I’ll work on the next morning, so I usually sit down with coffee at hand and get straight to it. That’s the ideal. On many days I have meetings or errands to run or jobs around the house. There’s also my blog. Maintaining a blog is like owning a dog. Its needs are relentless. My first task most mornings is to dream up something to post.
Correspondence often requires a significant amount of time. I do my best to stay current with requests and other timely material because a week of backsliding takes forever to overcome. Email is so handy that writers and editors usually communicate in a series of quick back and forth notes. I work with a number of publishers, so I make sure I get back to them as quickly as possible. You never know when the next query about a book might pop up.
Julie: Well, I did my homework and checked out your website prior to our visit. I was blown away that your first book sold over 2 million copies (and that was in 1969)!! How did you know you were meant to be a writer?
David: I didn’t grow up aspiring to be a writer. I was more into art, music, sports, and accumulating a wide assortment of everything from butterflies to snake skins and skulls. A professor at Drury gave me something new to consider when he told me he thought I could make it as a writer. After graduating (from Drury and Emory universities), I took up the challenge. Six years and 67 rejections later, I sold a story for $5.07. I wrote for adults until a short-short story of mine won an award and a fan asked – since at the time I was children’s greeting card editor at Hallmark – if I wrote anything for children. I decided to give it a try and my first book, The Boy with a Drum, was accepted by Western Publishing. I sold it outright for $300 so I never received a penny more though the book went on to sell 2 million copies in the next ten years. I don’t know how many copies eventually sold.
Julie: Today you’ve published over 90 titles and sold 15 million copies with honors and accolades. What advice can you offer teachers and students aspiring to write?
This is the book that started it all!
Invaluable Invitation
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A Dynamic Dialogue with David Harrison