Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

June 17, 2012

Q&A: The best Maine author you've never heard of

Maine author Elizabeth Hand ventures into young adult fiction with a story that conveys art's power.

By FRANK O SMITH

Elizabeth Hand may be the most widely acclaimed Maine novelist you've never heard of. Both The New York Times and the Washington Post have honored her with "Notable Book" of the year selections.

As a literary stylist and storyteller, she has won top honors in every genre in which she has written, including the Nebula Award in science fiction, the World Fantasy Award, the International Horror Guild Award and the Shirley Jackson Award for literature of psychological suspense, among others. She has large followings in major U.S. metropolitan markets. But not so much so in Maine.

That may soon change. Hand simultaneously has two new books out. "Available Dark" is a sequel to her award-winning "Generation Loss." But of special note is "Radiant Days," her first book purposefully written for the young adult market. It's a lyrical prism that reveals the magic and torment of two young people possessed by the heat of their art -- and their drive to push its boundaries.

It targets the upper range of the young adult market, but has cross-over appeal for readers of all ages and genres.

The story opens with Merle, an immensely talented teenage artist who leaves her hard-luck family in "Nowhere, Virginia" to attend art school in Washington, D.C. On a trip to New York, she becomes enchanted with graffiti art.

Back in D.C., after all her belongings are stolen and she's cast out on the streets, she encounters an aging, homeless street musician who encourages her radiant foray into graffiti. He also changes her life, opening a portal to 1870s France that brings Arthur Rimbaud, the boy poet, into her life. (Rimbaud profoundly impacted modern poetry before he turned 20.) Merle and Arthur are "twinned" by fates of family and their passions for art, "completing" each other as muses for one another's work.

Hand recently spoke about her work, the young adult market and her ties to Maine.

Q: Did you encounter anything different or challenging in writing "Radiant Days" for the YA (young adult) market?

A: I worked on it over seven or eight years. I had difficulty relaxing and writing the way I write my other novels. I rewrote and rewrote. The main thing was getting Merle's voice right. Once I finally grasped it, it was much easier.

 

Q: The plotting in "Radiant Days" seems leaner and tighter than some of your earlier books.

A: Plotting has never been my forte. To be honest, it doesn't interest me much. I know you need it, but I feel strongly that everything should be dictated by character. I try to come up with characters I trust and then let them go. But I have gotten better at plotting with each book.

 

Q: Merle has kinship with female protagonists in your other books. She has spunk. She's edgy. She's not constrained by social convention -- not to mention being fearless. What's your creative instinct for this?

A: There is an autobiographical element to it, which is true of many writers. Not that I see myself as particularly strong. But I had a sense very early of what I wanted to be.

Merle comes from a poor, dysfunctional Appalachian family. But she has the vision; she has her eye on the prize.

Young women and teenage girls are often very strong. But in the 1960s when I was growing up, stories about girls were about how to get the boy. We don't see that much anymore. It is a great trend in publishing.

We're in a "golden age" of young adult literature.

 

Q: You seem fascinated with the notion of "twins" -- one's other self, that which completes or offsets you. Why?

(Continued on page 2)

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