By Chanda Temple
Author Christopher Paul Curtis feels comfortable in a library.
It’s where he’s written many of his books, including his first one, The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963, which has won numerous awards.
On Tuesday, Oct. 8, he will visit the Birmingham Public Library. But it won’t be to work on his next novel. It will be to sign copies of The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 from 3 to 5 p.m. in the second floor Story Castle. He’ll also answer questions. The event is made possible by Alabama Public Television.
Curtis, 60, took off a year from unloading trucks in a Michigan warehouse in 1993 to write the fictional book, which looks at a family’s trip from Flint, Mich. to Birmingham at the height of the civil rights movement. The Sept. 15, 1963 bombing of Birmingham’s Sixteenth Street Baptist Church is featured in the book.
Originally, he had written that the Watsons took a trip to Florida. But when they got to Florida, nothing happened. He knew there had to be more to the story. He later discovered Detroit poet Dudley Randall’s “The Ballad of Birmingham,’’ a poem about the church bombing. Once Curtis saw the poem, he knew Birmingham was where the Watsons needed to go.
“I’m glad I did,’’ he says. “If I let them go to Florida, I can guarantee you wouldn’t be talking to me right now. I would be unloading trucks in a warehouse.’’
A year after writing the book, he returned to working in the warehouse in 1995 and submitted his book to two publishers. The first publisher rejected it, telling him that while she felt the characters were funny and well-developed, she didn’t feel that the story would resonate with young readers. The second publisher, Random House, accepted it.
Rejection from the first publisher showed Curtis that that was just one person’s opinion and he couldn’t let it defeat him. Today, he’s written seven books, his eighth book will be out next fall, he makes public appearances across the country, and has seen The Watsons made into a television movie, which aired in September on the Hallmak Channel. DVDs of the movie are now sold in Walmart. Teachers across the nation have made it required reading for years. More than 2,000 fourth graders in Birmingham City Schools are currently reading the book as part of a partnership between the City of Birmingham, the Birmingham Public Library and the schools. Curtis has sold 2.6 million copies of The Watsons since 1995. He stopped unloading trucks years ago.
“If I see her (the first publisher), I’m going to go ‘Nanh nah naahh nah,’ ’’ says Curtis, who is married with children and lives in Detroit.
Here, he offers his views on the book and writing:
Where he got his characters:
All the characters are composites. They are a little bit of Curtis, his brother, his sisters and some of parents. A lot of the things in the book happened to Curtis or to friends.
Why he uses his whole name as an author:
When he started writing, he did research to see if anyone else had his name. A man named Christopher Curtis had written the 1979 book “Be Your Own Chimney Sweep.’’ He added Paul to separate himself from the other Curtis.
Why he never takes writing for granted:
He worked in a car factory for 13 years in Flint, Mich. and worked four or five years hauling garbage, mowing lawns, being a maintenance worker and working on a senator’s campaign. “I know what real work is and I know how lucky I am,’’ he says.
His three tips for writers:
Be persistent, be dedicated and have fun writing.
How to handle self-doubt, especially in writing:
Self-doubt is always going to be there, but it’s a good thing. It keeps you on your toes. Through time and experience, you learn what’s good and what isn’t.
Why he went to the library every day to write:
He didn’t like writing at home or a coffee shop. He preferred the library, where he wrote his first book in longhand. His son would type it for him. He didn’t look at his year off to write as a vacation. He looked at it as a job. He was at the library, rain or shine, writing.
Has anyone asked him to do a Part 2 to The Watsons?
“I don’t’ think I would,” he says. “The Watsons have been through enough. I’m going to leave them alone.”
For our Man of the Hour feature we take down the “No Boys Allowed” sign and share stories of men who are doing great things in the writing world. Send your nominations for Man of the Hour to seejanewritemag@gmail.com.