“If we want a democracy that is also literary – a democracy that provides for serious readers from the least well-off homes – then we need inexpensive editions of all our literature, the rare and the difficult as well as the easy. And we need them to be published with as much care in design and typography and printing as the most expensive of books.” Aidan Chambers
Taken from a speech in acceptance of the Michael L. Printz Award, 2003:
http://www.aidanchambers.co.uk/journalism4.htm
Aidan Chambers was ahead of his time; an open-minded, creative, and concerned writer and human being. I believe most of the achievements and developments of the Western world and especially literature initiate with the writings of such writers and such caring human beings. Writers like Chambers are ahead of their time and this makes an advantage for human kind and especially the society they’re living in, because they simply let people’s imagination fly and see other possibilities, so that people can little by little set aside their prejudices and look at the world and others who are different from themselves in a new acceptive light. Every society, well no, humanity needs people like Aidan Chambers more, if we’re willing to have a peaceful world and a peaceful life.
If you haven’t read any of Chambers’ novels, or have little time for reading all of his works, definitely read Postcards from No Man’s Land (1999). I believe it’s a must and everyone should read this novel, even though you think you’re an adult and it’s just a simple young adult novel. It’s genius and totally unforgettable.
Furthermore, visit Aidan Chambers’ official website, http://www.aidanchambers.co.uk/journalism2.htm.
This is an archive of Chambers’ critical writings and talks. A very reliable and informative source for those interested in Children’s and YA Literature.
With this tribute, Cootermag hopes to pay homage to Aidan Chambers. May he rest in peace!
Photo by Niccolò Caranti – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21233451
Author: Dr. Neda Farnia
