For this interview, we are pleased to share answers from Nancy Johnson, professor, children’s/young adult literature and English/ language arts education, Western Washington University:
Which celebrity, living or not, do you wish would invite you to a coffee shop?
Eleanor Roosevelt and Michelle Obama. I’d do my best just to listen … and learn.
Favorite city to visit?
Favorite country is Vietnam. Favorite “city” in Vietnam is Hoi An. It’s magical!
Tea? Coffee? Milk? Soda? What’s your favorite go-to drink?
Coffee (dark roast) … no sugar, no cream.
What’s your dream vacation?
A pile of books, lots of sun, a beach (and nothing to grade!)
What gives you shivers?
Spiders and snakes. It’s irrational, I know, but they creep me out (even the teeny-tiny, nonpoisonous ones). And aerial acts (circuses, the Blue Angels, etc.).
Your favorite candy as a kid …
Movie theatre candy = Jujubes
Drug store candy = candy cigarettes (Seriously! They looked so cool — and so did we — but they tasted like chalk.)
What’s the strangest tourist attraction you’ve visited?
It’s not really a tourist attraction but … when we were kids, my Dad and my best friend’s Dad took us on a field trip to a sewage treatment plant.
Nancy — did you know that Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell have created a Poetry Celebration workshop which will be held in Bellingham, October 1st. Over 30 poets are gathering. I will be presenting about Movement and Motion — part of poetry in Nonfiction (Water Runs Through This Book). I would be happy to send more information.
Yep! Not only do I “know” this, it’s the project my colleague, Sylvia Tag, and I created as part of our PoetryCHaT (Poetry for Children and Teens) collection and project at WWU. We invited Janet W. and Sylvia V. as our featured speakers at our first Poetry Camp and it’s happily morphed into this event. We’re thrilled by the poets’ involvement (including you!) and eager to welcome lots of attendees. Check it out at: http://www.library.wwu.edu/poetrychat/events/2016/04/20/poetry-camp