Memoriam.

[saxikath]

Two people have died in the past few days who, in very different ways, shaped my childhood and my life.

The first was Luciano Pavarotti. My parents were opera lovers, so I heard his voice from a very young age. I still get chills listening to some of his recordings, especially the earlier ones. It's been overplayed in the past few days, since his death, but he really did do amazing things to "Nessun dorma." (I watched someone ice skate to that once. I think it was Pavarotti's recording, too. Exquisite.)

The second, just announced in the past hour or two, was Madeleine L'Engle. I first encountered A Wrinkle in Time and its two immediate sequels as part of Reader's Cup, a local competition in sixth grade. (I think. Maybe fifth.) We had to read a given list of books, and then there was a quiz bowl-style competition where we had to answer questions about them. (This event introduced me to a number of the classics -- Lloyd Alexander, Bridge to Terabithia, and Tuck Everlasting, among others.)

I didn't read all of L'Engle's oeuvre, but I loved those first three (A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet). The third was particularly resonant for me, for whatever reason. But I loved all three. I wanted a mother like Mrs. Murray and a friend like Calvin.

The New York Times obituary has a quote from L'Engle saying, "Of course I was Meg." As I posted in colorwheel's LJ, I think a lot of the rest of us were, too.

Comments

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was Meg, too, and I even got to have the right name!

I got to meet her at a reading at a summer camp. I noticed a listing for it one summer I was in college and I went to it. My friend and I were the only people there not from the summer camp, but it was really neat to get to see her in person.

[pernishus.livejournal.com]

I was more along the lines of Charles Wallace... I am very sad to hear of this loss. FOr me there was just A Wrinkle in Time until I was in graduate school at Harvard, when I ran across the first volume of the Crosswicks Journal in the Widener stacks. I hadn't realized how many other books she had written, or that there were sequels to Wrinkle I don't suppose I've read them all yet, but she has given me over the years many, many hours of happy reading. She will be missed.

[sylvanstargazer.livejournal.com]

I had a wrinkle in time on tape, read by her. I listened to it so often I could repeat large portions of it by heart.

"[A Wrinkle in Time] is not too difficult for kids, it's too difficult for grown ups. Too many grown ups shut themselves up in little rooms with windows that won't open and doors that are locked. But your brains are wide open for new thoughts and new concepts and new ideas, so I hope you enjoy this book."

She and Roal Dahl validated my childhood experience in ways that most of the world seemed to ignore. My favorite authors are passing away; it may be time to look to the next generation.

[nubianamy.livejournal.com]

My favorite authors are passing away; it may be time to look to the next generation.

New children's authors you might like: Pam Muños Ryan, Francis O'Rourke Dowell.

If you haven't read Robin McKinley, try her too.

[cycon.livejournal.com]

The New York Times obituary has a quote from L'Engle saying, "Of course I was Meg." ... I think a lot of the rest of us were, too.

And not just the female fans, either.

[fair-witness.livejournal.com]

Kathi-twin, it wouldn't surprise you to learn that I was Meg, too.

[dharklady.livejournal.com]

Oh wow I hadn't heard. She was one of my staple authors in high school. The trio was one of my favorite sets...Much sadness...