Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom

Anyone who writes or loves children's books should own this book of letters from Ursula Nordstrom, long-time editor at Harper Collins, to her authors. A fascinating "inside look" at her relationships with authors such as Ruth Krauss, Maurice Sendak, Lousie Fitzhugh, E. B. White (and many others), through witty, smart, personal communications. I love going back to this book, to reread or just browse - so inspiring!

No matter how tastefully collected or carefully presented, no book of letters exists without offering its readers the forbidden thrill of dabbling in someone else's mail. All the better if that mail comes from a single amusing and informative source like legendary Harper children's editor Ursula Nordstrom, eh? I am young and untrained in the world of children's literature. As such, it seemed a very good idea to find out as much as I possibly could about the field. There are certain texts out there that are prerequisites to knowing ANYTHING about kiddie lit and the first and foremost amongst these is, "Dear Genius". Being a person far more used to a 150 page children's book than a 406 page tome of adult correspondence, I was tentative to begin. For those of you who are like me, I come to reassure you that as companions go, you couldn't ask for a better source of solace, bullying, and undeniably funny jokes than Nordstrom herself. From her discovery of Maurice Sendak to the betrayal of Meindert DeJong to her own children's book imprint, and finally an uncommon adulation by artists and authors everywhere.... well the book packs a wallop. Editor Leonard Marcus has taken the most delicate clippings and applied the most exquisite cuts to these letters. The result is a book that says a lot about what the relationship between children's authors and their editors used to be, and speaks brilliantly of Nordstrom's own innate abilities without becoming gossip-laden or tawdry. The book spans a good 45 years, beginning when Ms. Nordstrom was a mere assistant to the director of Harper Books for Boys and Girls and ending after she has received the Curtis Benjamin Award. Between 1937 and 1982 we are treated to front row seats in the world of children's publishing. Nordstrom uses every conceivable weapon in her roster to coax, cajole, or threaten books out of her authors. She gives advice on a world of different topics. Sometimes that advice is well-taken. Other times the authors leave her offices in a huff and sell their books to other publishers. What makes the letters so gripping is that they are riddled equally with sound advice and intelligent reasoning as they are side-jokes, self-deprecating airs, and hints of a woman with a brilliant sense of what is and is not funny. The result is a delightful biography of a real leader and shaper of kiddie lit. The kind of person you'd be more than happy to hand your innocent children over to. In a word, a pip. Nordstrom's librarian detractors would sometimes point out that as a children's editor, UN (as she liked to call herself) hadn't any education or library experience with kids. That may be so, but at the same time this was a woman who reacted with all the zeal of the most fervent librarian when confronted with the censorship of her book. When you talk of Ursula Nordstrom, you're talking about the woman who was responsible for giving the world teen books about homosexuality, older children's

In "Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom," biographer Leonard S. Marcus allows his subject to speak for herself. By doing so Marcus mirrors the woman he profiles and the symmetry between biographer and subject sets the dynamic tone for this book.Nordstrom's editorial prowess is evident in the correspondence she carried on with her authors during a publishing career that spanned over 30 years. She provided gentle and insightful guidance to Maragret Wise Brown, Syd Hoff, Maurice Sendak, and E.B. White among many others.Nordstrom's genius was that she recognized and fostered it in others. Her letters reveal her to be an editor who respected but didn't pander to her sometimes temperamental talent. She knew when to cajole, inspire or reprimand them; she was awed by their gifts without being infatuated by them. Nordstrom forged a bond of artistic integrity with her authors and illustrators that gave rise to some of the best voices to be found in children's literature between 1940-1973. This is an insider's look at someone's life work and abiding passion - classic literature for children.

She was cajoler, enabler, champion, critic, and friend. She was Ursula Nordstrom, Director of Harper's Department of Books for Boys and Girls from 1940 to 1973 - a one of-a-kind editor who took 20th century children's literature by the scruff of the neck and gave it a good shake. Mentor to such luminaries as Maurice Sendak, Ruth Krauss, E. B. White, Shel Silverstein, and Garth Williams, she was a visionary who dared publish the antithesis of yesteryear's bland, sugary children's prose. Thanks to her discernment and determination youngsters found thrall in a myriad of now time-honored stories, including Charlotte's Web, Goodnight Moon, and Where The Wild Things Are. Reading her collected letters titled Dear Genius (for she considered each of her authors and artists to be preternaturally gifted) is tantamount to having a lively, albeit too brief, one-on-one with the self-effacing, wry Ms. Nordstrom. You leave her presence reluctantly, knowing that such stimulating conversation is rare. The only child of two beautiful people - "a gaslight-era matinee idol" and a pretty young actress, the editor would "forever regard herself as an ugly duckling born of swans." This lack of personal self-confidence didn't temper her considerable professional aplomb. When a doughty influential librarian challenged her by asking "what qualified her, a nonlibrarian, nonteacher, nonparent, and noncollege graduate to publish children's books," Ms. Nordstrom replied, "Well, I am a former child, and I haven't forgotten a thing." Unmarried and childless, she nonetheless related companionably to youngsters, continually seeking to publish books that would make "any child feel warmed and attended to and considered." Belittlers of her choices were dismissed as "adults who sift their reactions to children's books through their own messy adult maladjustments." Fearlessly confrontational in defense of her authors and artists, she was also psychological and practical support, shoring up a diffident young Sendak with, "You may not be Tolstoy, but Tolstoy wasn't Sendak, either." To Garth Williams, whom she feared financially strapped, she offered a monthly stipend. A chatty, voluble correspondent Ms. Nordstrom's letters hold self-revelatory comments - a regard for Adlai Stevenson; an aversion to New York City - "a cement island;" and eclectic tastes: "Would Virginia Woolf be sickened to know that she is loved by one who also reads `Confidential'?" Her notes are punctuated with an engaging, self-deprecating wit, as when she admitted, "....I may have tried to impress you at one time with the beauty and general poetry of my existence....That is balderdash, dear.....I am a real mess...I can walk onto a lovely green plot of land, and tall strong trees turn brown..." These letters, penned between 1937 and 1982 are a chronicle of the highlights in the children's publishing world, as well as affirmation of the editor's devotion to her craft and colleagues

A must read for any writer or lover of children's books, Dear Genius gives remarkable insight into the mind and career of Ursula Nordstrom, long-time director of Harper's children's literature department. Ursula poured her heart into many of her professional relationships, and her letters to authors, critics and fans are shrewd, witty, intelligent and sometimes sad--I didn't want it to end, but of course it had to, leaving me wanting more.