A new champion is crowned
Yesterday it was announced that former computer programmer and scriptwriter Malorie Blackman is to be the new Children’s Laureate. The eighth person to hold the post, and a prolific author herself, Blackman is on something of a crusade to get people reading. In an interview yesterday she pointed out that whilst libraries in prisons were mandatory,in schools they were optional. Not only this, but 17% of young people questioned in a survey said that they would be embarrassed if a friend saw them reading. In such a context, storytelling needs a champion, and Malorie Blackman might just be it.
Whenever I speak to adult audiences about the power of story to convey truth, I tend to encounter two obstacles. The first is that ‘its only a story and can’t be taken seriously’. The second is that ‘I can’t tell stories’. The first can usually be overcome by a review of histories and cultures where the storyteller is the curator of identity and the dynamo of change. The second means swallowing a lot of adult pride and having a go. Last time I did this was three weeks ago, as I sat with a group of adult theology students on the floor of a lecture room playing with story cubes. The results were heartening.
Blackman’s combined background as a computer programmer and author means that she is especially well placed to usher storytelling to the fore in a technological age. The leap may not be as great as some imagine, in an era where a ‘timeline’ is shorthand for your story, and the word ‘storify’ is well on its way to becoming a verb.
I wish Malorie Blackman every success in her new role, and hope that this particular champion can get children of every age reading more stories.
Storybook wall, Alamogordo public library
