Learning from Those Who Came Before Us

An Interview with Chris Crowe

Authors

  • Leilya Pitre Southeastern Louisiana University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.2376-5275.2024.6.2.148-168

Keywords:

ALAN, history, scholarship and teaching, Young Adult Literature

Abstract

This extensive interview by Leilya Pitre with Chris Crowe is the first installment of a new feature in Study & Scrutiny, “Conversations with ALAN Elders,” which will appear in every other issue. In this far-ranging conversation, Crowe recounts his experiences as a student of Ken Donelson, one of the founders of the Assembly of Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) in 1974, his relationships with other early leaders of the organization, and with his own students. He also speaks to the purpose of this section: Keeping the roots of teaching and scholarship of young adult literature in the light. As Crowe is wont to do, he offers a metaphor to make his point: “There is a science-fiction/time-travel novel, called Timeline by Michael Crichton (1999), in which one character, a historian, says that people who don’t know history don’t know anything. It’s like being a leaf that doesn’t know it’s part of a tree. The tree of young adult literature has lots of interesting roots and branches.” This interview project led by Leilya Pitre, Terri Suico, and Crag Hill intends to surface the connections between the roots and each season’s fresh leaves.

Author Biography

Leilya Pitre, Southeastern Louisiana University

Leilya Pitre is an assistant professor and English education coordinator at Southeastern Louisiana University, where she teaches content methods courses, young adult literature, advanced grammar, and linguistics. She has authored and co-authored three books and several book chapters and articles on study and teaching of young adult literature and field experiences of the preservice English teachers. Leilya is a member of NCTE and ALAN since 2011.

References

Anderson, M. T. (1997). Thirsty. Candlewick Press.

Anderson, M. T. (1999). Burger Wuss. Candlewick Press

Anderson, M. T. (2002). Feed. Candlewick Press.

Chau, C., Lamb, B., & Martin, A. M. (2021). The Baby-sitters club. First edition. Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic.

Collins, S. (2014). The hunger games trilogy. Scholastic.

Crichton, M. (1999). Timeline. Ballantine Books.

Lesesne, T. (2003). Making the match: The right book for the right reader at the right time. Stenhouse Publishers.

Pascal, F. (2003). The Sweet Valley High series. Random House.

Polisner, G. (2016). The memory of things. Wednesday Books.

Rowling, J. K. (2007). The Harry Potter series. Arthur A. Levine Books.

Stine, R. L., Hernandez, G., Ruth, G., & Morse, S. (2006). Goosebumps: creepy creatures. Graphix.

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Published

2024-06-24