Kidlitblogospherotica
Kidlit Blogging Part 1 definitely brought up some interesting points. Then Mark Blevis and Andrea Ross (Godparents of the kidlit podcast all thanks to their site Just One More Book) spoke on Podcasting 101. They taped the whole thing and will be putting it up on their site any day now, so I won’t go too much into it. Here’s what I took away from the session, personally:
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Linux is pronounced "linn-ex". Who knew?
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I really need to go to Creative Commons to license my podcasts.
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Flickr is apparently searchable. I’ll be damned.
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You can "comment" on a podcast if that podcast has left a voice feedback telephone number.
About this point I was feeling incredibly grateful that the world is full of people who are willing, in terms of things like this conference, to do this amount of unpaid unsung work.
There was a split at this point, as the authors (of which there were many) and the bloggers split into Blogging for Authors and Cybils Forum groupings respectively. I spent most of the Cybils Forum listening to Liz Burns, wishing I could speak as well as she could. For example, Liz made the point that in terms of online literary awards (specifically of the blogish persuasion) adult bloggers are less organized than their kidlit equivalents. Liz also quoted someone she knew saying, "The plural of anecdote is not evidence." I intend to casually work this sentence into my day-to-day conversations from here on in.
While the authors were away we discussed the possibility of naming this group the Kidlit Blogger Association or KBA. You might want to say KLBA but that sounds like a radio station more than anything else. I was all for the name until Ellen Klages reminded us that there are people in this world for whom the term ‘kidlit’ is offensive. I had forgotten this. One of my favorite pieces of literary criticism is Kiddie Lit: The Cultural Construction of Children’s Literature by Beverly Lyon Clark. The piece makes it very clear that in the world of academia (and publishing too, it seems) "kidlit" or "kiddie lit" is seen as a derogatory stab at the authenticity of any literary consideration of children’s books. If you want to dismiss someone working in the field you label their work "kidlit" and that’s the end of that. To consciously take on the name could come across as empowering by embracing a potential insulting term, but that’s a discussion for another day. I noticed that some of the more scholarly children’s literary bloggers (Read Roger, Educating Alice, Oz and Ends, and The Excelsior File, just to name a few) were not in attendance at the conference, which was a pity, particularly when it came to this debate on the term and its perception in the wider world of youth literature. Thinking about it later, I realized that the term "kidlit" suits the purposes of the online world perfectly. It has two syllables, trips lightly off the tongue, and what else could you call it? Younglit? Youthlit? Totlit? Entlinglit? None of these work half so well.
(CONTINUED IN PART THREE)
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About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.
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Great wrapups of the conference, although I have to confess with “erotica” at the end of this post title, I was thinking that maybe the conference got a little wilder than I expected.
Good point about using the name Kidlit, and you’re right that it could become an empowering rallying cry – like the way that the American colonists proudly adopted the name Yankee and the song Yankee Doodle which were intended as insults by the British. (And now I expect that J.L. Bell will step in and shatter all my illusions by telling me that story isn’t true). Yup, we’re kidlitters and we’re proud of it!
True. But after Greg’s talk about getting hits from weird words… well how could I resist?
In the beginning of my junior year of college, I told my advisor (whom I admired greatly) that I wanted to become a librarian. She started brainstorming all sorts of ideas for academic librarianship. I said, “Actually, I want to become a children’s librarian.” She paused. “You really like kiddy-lit that much?” she asked. “Yeah,” I replied, but I couldn’t help it– I was stung. She was supportive afterward, but I could tell that a little door had shut in her mind. Keep in mind that I was 20, and didn’t have the witty responses that I’d probably have today at the ripe age of 35.
Hi Betsy!
I love your post title (maybe that could be the new name of the organization for next year? 🙂 Seriously though, it was GREAT seeing you again and this time not having to scream over any music (I realized that I’d only spoken with you over loud music in the NY bar where we met you last winter). I’m also no longer in the dark about your blog’s name and that will keep me from lying awake at night pondering it’s meaning — thanks for resolving that! 🙂
All best,
Jim
As Eeyore would say, thanks for noticin’ me, but honestly the conference came at the worst possible time for me this year. Really, after missing out on participating in last year’s inaugural Cybils I vowed never to let another “first” opportunity pass me by. But I did.
I can’t speak for the others (honored to be included in such august company, and as “scholarly” no less) but it’s going to take a lot to keep me from going to Portland next year… even though that trip could spell financial ruin: I’ll need to plan in an extra day for Powells.
Aw. We’ll catch you in Portland for sure, David. Plus, aren’t you going to the Society of Illustrators celebration? I’ll see you then, right? Powells. Yes, we’ll have to do a field trip to Powells for sure. I think that there are staff members there who read children’s literary blogs too. And thanks so much, Jim! It was great getting to talk to you without pulse pounding music interfering. I’ll be seeing y’all in Portland next year, fer sure.
Of course BookMoot would really enjoy the term “EntlingLit.”