Award-Winning Author Elizabeth Partridge

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Sep 1, 2005

Elizabeth Partridge has the good fortune of being born into a family of creative people. Her father was a freelance photographer as well as her grandmother. She describes her family as "bohemian" and how it was not uncommon for her parents to throw the five kids into the back seat of their Cadillac limo and camp for several weeks at a time paying no attention to school attendance.

Elizabeth's interest in writing for children began when she read to her own children. She already had a successful career as an acupuncturist. Her first book was "Dorthea Lange: A Visual Life (Smithsonian, 1993)and was about the life of this famous photographer. Later a middle grade novel, "Clara and the Hoodoo Man (Dutton, 1996) was published and her award-winning biography of singer/songwriter Woody Guthrie (Viking, 2002) received the prestigious Boston Horn Book Award. Elizabeth's latest biography is about the former Beatle, John Lennon. It is titled, John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth (Viking, 2005). This is an in-depth look at the life of the famous singer/songwriter.

Please visit Elizabeth's superb website and read more about her life and her wonderful books.

http://www.elizabethpartridge.com

Elizabeth's books are wonderful examples of exceptional writing. She was gracious enough to answer questions about her books, her life and the craft of writing.

1.SR: I know you had a very unusual and enviable childhood, how do you think this has influenced your writing?

EP: In my family, it wasn't about being inside our outside the box: there was no box. The usual rules that applied to people just didn't seem to apply to Partridges! Some of these things were embarrassing later in life - like learning to say goodbye before I left a party, instead of just slipping out the door. Some were very freeing - like being off on an extended camping trip when school started. But I think growing up like that has made me less likely to accept the usual limitations people generally accept, or have to fight against in their mind. That's useful in writing.

2.SR: What were some of your favorite books to read as a child?

EP: David and the Phoenix, by David Ormondary (sp?). I loved all the fanciful animals and how David got to BE with them. The Edgar Eager books.

3.SR: You have written several biographies for older readers and also picture book bio's for younger readers, how is this writing different and which do you prefer?

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