Interview
with Matt Forrest Esenwine
- Congratulations
on the great reviews for Flashlight Night!
This is your first picture book, but have you had other rhyming
work published?
Thanks, Deb! Yes, I’ve had numerous poems published
over the years. My first was back when I was in high school – I sent a free
verse poem to the local college’s literary magazine and they liked it enough to
publish it! That set me on my path. Since then, several of my poems have been
published in literary journals and anthologies.
Up until 2009 or so, I was only publishing poetry geared for adults – primarily free verse – but I had some children’s poetry I’d written and didn’t know what to do with. A friend told me about SCBWI, I joined a local critique group, and began studying the craft as well as the market (a hugely important and often underestimated aspect of writing for children). My first children’s poem, “First Tooth,” was published in Lee Bennett Hopkins’ Lullaby & Kisses Sweet (Abrams Appleseed, 2015) and between that poem and all the others I have – or will have – published in books, online journals, and ‘Highlights’ magazine, the grand total comes to about 24! Granted, in publishing, the wheels turn slowly, but I’m extremely grateful I’ve been able to get this far so quickly.
Up until 2009 or so, I was only publishing poetry geared for adults – primarily free verse – but I had some children’s poetry I’d written and didn’t know what to do with. A friend told me about SCBWI, I joined a local critique group, and began studying the craft as well as the market (a hugely important and often underestimated aspect of writing for children). My first children’s poem, “First Tooth,” was published in Lee Bennett Hopkins’ Lullaby & Kisses Sweet (Abrams Appleseed, 2015) and between that poem and all the others I have – or will have – published in books, online journals, and ‘Highlights’ magazine, the grand total comes to about 24! Granted, in publishing, the wheels turn slowly, but I’m extremely grateful I’ve been able to get this far so quickly.
- Your voice
talent background taught you to pay attention to how written words sound
when read aloud. Was this helpful to you in writing picture books?
Yes, it was…but what was more important was my
ability to write radio copy (e.g., commercials). When writing a 30-second or
60-second radio commercial, one needs to create interest on some type of
emotional level; introduce a problem; offer a solution; and then conclude the
message. Sound familiar?? It’s a story! So no matter whether it’s a commercial,
a poem, a picture book, or a novel, the general structure is very often the
same – it’s how one varies that structure and what one does with it that makes
the difference.
- Which do
you find more challenging when writing, perfect rhyme or perfect meter?
Perfect rhyme, no question. Perfect meter can be
difficult, yes, but if one is writing in accentual verse rather than syllabic,
it’s the rhymes that are going to be front and center to the reader. As long as
the text flows, make sure those rhymes are as good as they can be.
- Rhyming
books are often a hard sell, partly because they’re tough to translate for
foreign markets. What would you say to encourage those of us who write in
rhyme?
I know of a number of folk who’ve written rhyming
picture books that have been translated into other languages, and they usually
end up as non-rhyming picture books. This is another reason why having a solid,
universal story – and text that can be appreciated even in prose –is so
important.
- Can you
share some creative marketing ideas you’ve used with Flashlight Night?
One of my first book signings was at night, and we
displayed the book on a projection screen so everyone could see. I talked about
the book a little bit, then showed the kids some shadow puppets on the screen,
and everyone left with a small flashlight of their own!
I also contacted a local hospital’s gift shop,
because I felt ‘Flashlight’ was the kind of quiet adventure book a young child
might enjoy while staying there. The manager loved the book and ordered a case,
and we scheduled a book signing during the “lunch hour” (a very loose term when
it comes to hospitals). Before the signing I visited the on-campus preschool
and read to three groups of young children, and by the time the signing rolled
around many of their parents were requesting copies! In fact, we sold out of
all the books in an hour - and I’m hoping to get back there before Christmas
for another go-round!
- What’s the
most fun you’ve had since your book came out?
I’ve really been enjoying the signings, actually.
Eventually when I’m old and grizzled (which may not be too long from now) and
have a wall of books to my name I’ll probably become haughty and
supercilious…but for now, I’m having fun meeting people and chatting with them
about the book, my contributions to various poetry collections, and children’s
publishing in general.
- What’s next
for you in your writing career?
Will your next book be in rhyme, too?
This spring, I’ll have my name associated with two
books! My second picture book, “Don’t Ask a Dinosaur” (Pow! Kids Books), which
I co-wrote with author Deb Bruss (“Book! Book! Book!”, “Big Box for Ben”), is
scheduled for a March release. It’s about a couple of kids trying to put on a
birthday party while their dinosaur friends – in the interest of helping –
destroy everything. It includes a short glossary at the end so readers can
learn more about the 14 different dinosaur species in the book…and yes, it’s
rhyming!
I also am extremely grateful to Lee Bennett Hopkins
for asking me to contribute a poem for his newest poetry anthology, “School
People” (Boys Mills Press), which is being published by the same folks who
published “Flashlight Night.” “School People is a collection of 15 poems about
all the grown-ups that kids meet when they go to school: teachers, principals,
the lunch crew, etc. Lee asked me to write a poem about the bus driver, so I’m
really looking forward to seeing all my fellow friends’ and writers’ poems!
Thanks, Matt! We’ll look forward to reading more of your
writing and rhyming!
Thank YOU, Deb – and
also thank you to Angie and everyone for including our little book in the Top
10!
