Writing: An act of revelation

"Writing is an act of revelation," said award-winning author Christopher Paul Curtis at the Annual Awards Banquet on Wednesday evening during the IRA Annual Convention in Atlanta. Noting that he was born on Mother's Day in 1953, Curtis launched into a lively storytelling session about his childhood memories of his mother and how the theme of mothers resonates in his writing.

He recalled viewing his mother as a superhero. "I respected her and feared her," he said. He told one touching story of how his mother responded when his younger brother, David, was very ill. While his mother rocked David, she also comforted her other children by rubbing their heads with her hands--"the language of hands," he called it.

"What you read about in all my books is partly the result of two loving African-American parents," Curtis concluded, "mostly the love of my mother." He thanked the audience for allowing his voice and those of his characters to be heard. "Without you, they would be mostly silent," he said.