I am aware of the potential audience of my books. I consider — I do have in the back of my mind the notion will I be embarrassed to show this in front of a classroom of 9-year-old people? And if I’m embarrassed I might have to think about that. Maybe I should be embarrassed, maybe it’s a book that’s an uncomfortable book and that’s fine.
I used to send my book dummies to school with my wife when she taught and she would them to her dear friend who taught across the hall and she — that friend Carole read the books. Then I got — I was doubly separated from me, so I got a pretty honest appraisal of how the book might look or how the book might be responded to.
And some of those, those comments have changed the book, that made the book a little — sometimes my book was a little too abstract and I brought it back in. Sometimes I was able to get rid of some things weren’t necessary. So I do think strongly of a reader. Sometimes that reader might just be me as a 9-year-old if I can get myself to that point, although it’s not very difficult. I think what I respond to now is similar to what I responded to, you know, 45 years ago. So it hasn’t changed that much for me I don’t think. I hope.
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