Another
first for the Scribbler!
Michelle and
I met online through several author friends we follow on Facebook. There is
excitement in the air for Michelle and Sophie – a mother and daughter team
– with their first collection of children’s poems – When Pigs Fly. The
book was launched September 19th in Woodstock, NB.
Michelle is
an award-winning poet and her work has been featured in many publications.
Sophie is an artist, writer and competitive dancer.
The
Scribbler is lucky to have the ladies as our guests this week. A 4Q Interview
and an excerpt from the new book.
Michelle McLean is a clinical social worker, educator, poet, and mother of two fabulous, big-hearted daughters. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications, including Quills, Ascent Aspirations, Understorey, Other Voices, Peacock Journal, JONAH, and others. She lives with her family in the village of Bath, New Brunswick.
Sophie Arseneau, now 12, completed the majority of the illustrations for this collection between the ages of 10-11. Sophie is an artist, writer, competitive dancer and grade 8 student at Florenceville Middle School.
4Q: Michelle
– how did this project come about? What inspired you and Sophie to create this
work?
MM: The majority of these poems were actually written when Sophie
was in utero. I was thrilled when the
unpublished manuscript won second place in the Writer’s Federation of New
Brunswick’s annual competition in the “Writing for Children” category (2007). Despite
receiving encouraging feedback about the collection over the next couple of years,
I wasn’t able to find a publisher at the time and I basically sentenced the
manuscript to life in the back corner of my closet amongst the dust bunnies, my
too high/never worn heels, and photo boxes filled with outtakes, snapshots of
old boyfriends and regrettable 80s hair.
This is also where I housed my rejection letters – out of sight, but
never quite out of mind. Yet all of
those kindly worded (and often personalized) rejection letters invite reconsideration
of the previously-scorned-as-platitude “things happen for a reason”, since this
deferral allowed the opportunity for my daughter to illustrate the poems and
for the two of us to collaborate on this project together. I was also delighted that we were able to
include a gorgeous artistic contribution from my youngest daughter, Lily. It’s a pretty special project to me – a
collaboration that never would have happened had the book been accepted for
publication all those years ago.
I’ve long admired
Sophie’s artistic talents and how much animation and life she brings to her
drawings. I’ve always loved the humor and joy in her artwork
and it would never fail to make me smile and chuckle. When
Sophie was around 9 or 10, I remember thinking “how cool would it be if she wanted
to illustrate the poems in When Pigs Fly?” Luckily, Sophie was on board with this idea,
and Chapel Street Editions was willing to take the plunge with us!
4Q: Sophie –
please tell us about your illustrations. Was it difficult to portray the words
into a drawing?
SA: It was a little difficult, but some poems were
easier to portray than others. For
instance, some of the shorter poems took less time to draw than some of the longer
or more complicated ones. I completed
some of the illustrations at home, and others in my art classes with Brigitte
Rivers. Each illustration usually took between
1-2 classes, but some of the more complicated drawings might take up to 4
classes. The words in the poems affect a
lot of the outcome of the drawing. Most
of the poems in the book are written in a silly or funny style so that drawing
would be different than maybe a more serious poem or a love poem.
4Q: Now tell
us what to expect when we pick up a copy.
MM: One of my fondest descriptions of this
collection came from my publisher, who called it “delightfully quirky”. I’m thrilled when I share the poems with folks
and they laugh out loud. That’s my
favorite reaction. I think when people
pick up a copy, they can expect to be impressed and delighted by the
illustrations (I am admittedly biased, but I still think it holds true), and to
have some laughs and to enjoy a little goofy foolishness, whimsy and wordplay, with
the occasional dash of something extra.
4Q: Please
share a childhood memory and/or anecdote. Michelle & Sophie.
MM: Sophie has been writing and illustrating since
she was a very little girl. I can
remember her as young as age three, crafting books out of construction and
printer paper, carefully hole- punching and binding them with ribbons – titles
such as The Canary Merry Christmas, The Yicky Sticky Ick, Tommy the Tow
Truck, ABCDE Animals, The Horse and the Flea, The Fuzzy Wuzzie Bear, and her
five-volume series, Hey Abby! Sophie would always include an “About the
Author” section on the back, and the whole process and production at that age was
pretty adorable, but also just really impressive. I also fondly reflect on the newsletter Sophie
created years ago to share around town, entitled “Chit Chat and all That”.
Staff at our local convenience store, Mark’s
the Spot allowed Sophie to display them on their newsstand for folks to take
home with them.
Over the
years, I have rescued various pieces of writing and artwork from the trash –
pieces which didn’t meet Sophie’s standards in some way. I just couldn’t bear to see them thrown out. I know I’m biased, but I think everything she
creates is pretty special. Who knows – maybe
she’ll publish the “outtakes” someday!
SA: Like my mom has said, when I was quite young,
I was often writing my own little books and stories. I threw a lot of my writing away, but mom
ended up rescuing half of my art pieces and books from when I was little. I’m glad she did, because now I can see them
again and remember when I wrote them.
4Q: Please
tell us about your other writing Michelle and especially your award(s).
MM: I continue
to search out a home for my unpublished manuscript, Tesserae, but have
published a number of individual poems from this collection. Tesserae was awarded an honourable
mention for the Alfred G. Bailey Prize (2017). I was twice awarded honourable mentions for
the Dawn Watson Memorial prize (2015), (2018).
As an unpublished
manuscript, When Pigs Fly was awarded second place in WFNB’s annual contest
in the “Writing for Children” category (2007). I was also a grateful award recipient in the Dorothy
Sargent Rosenberg poetry competition for “young writers of unusual promise” (2007).
I have
received a number of other honourable mentions, as well as second and third
place awards in various contests from Ascent Aspirations, Open Minds
Quarterly, Toward the Light, and the Ontario Poetry Society.
While part
of me feels a little obnoxious listing these recognitions, I have to say that these
awards have been quite helpful in buoying my faith and optimism in the midst of
the inevitable swamp of rejection letters one often finds themselves slogging
through as a writer.
4Q: Sophie –
When did you start drawing and when did you start competitive dancing. Tell us
a bit about both.
SA: I have been
drawing for my entire life because it was always something I really enjoyed
doing. I started competitive dance three
years ago but I have been dancing recreationally since I was three. What I love most about drawing is that there
is no “right way”. You can just do whatever you want and there’s no rules. What I love most about dance is everything, honestly,
– the costumes, the music, being on stage – I love everything about it!
4Q: Favorite
authors, novels or artist?
SA: I don’t
exactly have a favorite author because I usually pick out any book and if I
like it, I read it. I don’t usually pick out books by a specific author.
4Q: What’s
next for you ladies? Another project to work on together?
MM: I would absolutely
love to work on another collaboration with Sophie at some point, but I suspect she
would enjoy a little break to move on to other things in her life right now. My youngest daughter Lily has expressed
interest in working on a project together, so perhaps that will be something to
look for in the future.
SA: Although I did enjoy this project a lot, I agree
that mom and my sister Lily should work on the next project together and that
way we would both get a chance.
An Excerpt
from When Pigs Fly.
(Compliments
of Chapel Street Editions. Copyright is held by the author(s). Used with
permission)
Thank you
both, Michell and Sophie, for being our guests this week. Wishing you much
success with your future endeavors.
For all you
fantastic visitors wanting to know more about Michelle and Sophie, please follow
these links:
Purchasing
links:
Other links
and contacts:
https://wfnb.ca/member_profile/michelle-mclean/
https://understoreymagazine.ca/author/michelle-mclean/
http://peacockjournal.com/michelle-mclean-three-poems/
https://www.creekvillagegalleryandcafe.com/sophie-arseneau
https://www.facebook.com/events/646604956061308
https://www.facebook.com/creekvillagegalleryandcafe/photos/a.1069569733070172/3918585064835277/
Michelle’s
email contact: mclean.michelle@outlook.com
Sophie would
also like to invite you to follow “Gruffy the Puppy” on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/gruffythepuppy/
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