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By Any Measure

By Any Measure

No art unconsidered

A Conversation with Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee) YA and Children’s Author and Curator

November 23, 2023 by Josephine Reed Leave a Comment

Today, we are celebrating Indigenous Peoples Month with an interview with author Cynthia Leitich Smith.  A member of the Muscogee (Creek) nation, Smith is a bestselling, award-winning children’s-YA writer and the author-curator of the Native-centered Heartdrum imprint at HarperCollins Children’s Books. She also is the 2024 Southern Mississippi Medallion Winner and the 2021 NSK Neustadt Laureate and is widely recognized for her fiction for young readers that centers on contemporary  Native American characters.  In this podcast, we discuss her recent YA novel Harvest House  an “indigenous ghost mystery” that grapples with serious themes of missing Native women and girls while emphasizing the empowerment of young Native voices. She also discusses the importance of including themes such as first love, strong family bonds, and vibrant community ties in her writing to underscore the joy that can be found in the daily lives of Indigenous kids.  The conversation takes us through the interconnectedness of characters in Cynthia’s Native-centered stories, returning to the beloved Wolf family, first introduced in her 2000 picture book Jingle Dancer.  Cynthia reflects on the inspiration behind her award-winning book  Hearts Unbroken, exploring the tensions between artists and their art, speech in its many forms, and the importance of navigating apologies and amends.  We discuss her sense of responsibility as a writer for young readers, aiming to provide stories that do no harm and offer empowerment, while still tackling difficult issues. Cynthia shares her journey through the publishing industry’s challenges, her strategic pivot to fantasy and gothic genres, and eventual return to contemporary Native American stories.  She discusses her role as curator of Heartdrum, a Native imprint at HarperCollins, its goals and continued growth, and finally  her vision for the expansion of Native literature across genres and representations.   

For a transcript, click here

Filed Under: Indigenous Literature, YA Literature

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About Sunil and Josephine

Sunil Iyengar directs the Office of Research & Analysis at the National Endowment for the Arts. Under his leadership, the office has produced dozens of research reports, hosted periodic research events and webinars, led strategic plan development for the agency, and established research and … [more] about About Sunil and Josephine

By Any Measure

Aesthetics meets analysis in a monthly series of podcasts and blog posts from the National Endowment for the Arts.  Once upon a time, writers and artists were skeptical—if not morbid—about the application of science to questions of natural beauty, aesthetics, and arts and culture. Think of … [more] about By Any Measure

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