Paul Fleischman: United States of America ★ Author

“I’m looking for something deep, universal, and strong. If writing doesn’t have that, then readers won’t be moved by it.”

Paul Fleischman

Born in 1952, Paul Fleischman grew up in Santa Monica, California, in a family that cultivated his creativity from an early age. His father, the author Sid Fleischman, would read his stories to Paul as a child as they were being written, and the entire family took an interest in listening to and playing music. Working with his family’s hand printing press gave Fleischman experience in arranging and shaping words, which would later become a major focus of his poetry. Listening to the short-wave radio taught him that sounds in any language can be beautiful.

Initially Fleischman had no interest in writing books, but had a deep appreciation for writing music. It was when he was thinking about what to do with his life after graduation from the University of New Mexico that his father suggested that he should try to write. As a result, Fleischman wrote his first children’s book, The Birthday Tree. While getting started as a writer and developing his own voice, he worked many jobs including bookstore clerk, bagel baker, and textbook proofreader. His works range from poetry, short stories, and novels, to picture books, non-fiction, and a play. He was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1989 for his book Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices.

For Fleischman, writing is a kind of music. The sounds of words are just as important as their meanings, and he constantly endeavors to create not only poetry, but also prose that is rhythmically appealing to the ear. Because of this, his work is often painstaking, and although he may often only finish one page per day, it is a well-polished page. In his Newbery acceptance speech, Fleischman referred to himself as “playing in the vast sandbox of the English language,” and his playful writing technique allows him to create stories, poetry, and plays that children can interact with and take pleasure in reading. There is a strong sense of community in Fleishman’s work that develops through the multiple voices that he weaves together in various patterns and styles.

Paul Fleischman often builds his stories for children around a metaphorical center. The themes he deals with are universally relevant. He sees performance in both texts and real life, creating characters with a growing awareness of themselves and the greater world they live in, an awareness that he passes on to the reader. It is a combination of this accessibility and innovative style that has won Fleischman’s work multiple awards and accolades.