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| Marla being generally awesome |
Marla tells us about hearing Trina Schart Hyman's SCBWI keynote many years ago where she complained unapologetically about the publishing industry (Trina was known for being brutally honest). Marla admired Trina's frankness and badassery and began a correspondence with her that lasted many years. Marla, as a struggling newbie, wrote to Trina complaining about work/life balance. Trina wrote back: You're right, the center doesn't hold and most things are falling apart.
Trina and Marla's correspondence went on, Trina posing these sorts of questions to Marla when Marla shared her worries about having enough time and money to continue making books:
Do you want to be an artist? Or do you want to fuck around?
Who are you doing this for? And is it worth it?
At the time, Trina's answer to that last question was that she didn't know anymore. After a few years of back-to-back family tragedies and big life/relational changes Trina had stopped wanting to make pictures even though, after 37 years of a very successful illustration career, she was still at the top of her game. At the time Marla couldn't understand how Trina could lose her creative spark so fully, but the Pandemic changed that.
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| The baddest of all asses, Trina Schart Hyman |
Marla talks about all the sorts of loss that happened during the Pandemic for all of us—time, purpose, routine, relationships, and cognitive space for creativity among those less tangible things than a negative Covid test or toilet paper were gone, not for weeks, but for years. Though Marla still felt creative she couldn't get to 'funny' during 2020, so she gave up working on the humorous picture book she'd been trying to make and instead turned to a book she'd been working on since 1998 based on the lines of a Jewish baby-naming blessing.
The question of balancing our life with our work will never be resolved, says Marla. When she looks back at her first six books, all made while she had young children, they were all made in small pockets of time and the art for them bubbled up from her life experiences at the time. This is how the art finally bubbled up for In Every Life during the Pandemic. Kirkus calls it a "lyrical blessing of a picture book [that] belongs on every shelf". In Every Life will help you answer Trina's questions above as well as provide you some life and art inspiration so order your copy today.
If you want to watch Jennifer Garner read In Every Life to Marla's adorable grandbaby:
This was a fantastic read. Thanks so much for sharing.
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