“Through my writing, I have made new friends and continued to learn about this world of ours in all its wonder, with all its challenges.” – Sonia Levitin
Levitin, born on this date in 1934, is a German American novelist, artist, producer, Holocaust survivor, and author of over 40 novels and picture books for young adults and children, as well as several theatrical plays and essays.
Her semi-autobiographical characters have a somewhat common theme of courageous main characters who are faced with difficult challenges and who must "take charge" in order to overcome obstacles. She’s won numerous awards for her writing, including a ALA Best Book Award for The Singing Mountain and the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Incident at Loring Groves.
And, she’s added a new side to her
creativity during her 8th decade, taking on expressionist painting
“to keep herself busy” as she likes to say.
Her paintings have been shown to critical acclaim. But, of course, it’s her writing that
continues to shine – something she determined to do at the end
of World War II.
“When I was only eleven years old, I decided to become a writer,” she said. “I told this ambition in a letter to Laura Ingalls Wilder, (and) the die was cast. How could I go back on my word?”
No comments:
Post a Comment