Daniel Handler on Childhood
Photo by Meredith Heuer
Recently I was lucky enough to attend a secular sermon conducted by The School of Life Melbourne in which one of my favourite authors, Daniel Handler, spoke on childhood and the importance of literature. Handler may be better known to you as the official representative of author Lemony Snicket. "Official representative" being a phrase which here means the physical embodiment of Mr Snicket, and author of the popular YA series 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'. The opportunity to discuss what I learnt at 'Daniel Handler on Childhood' seemed too good to be true, as it is entirely fortunate that he just so happened to be discussing one of the very topics covered by Reads Like Teen Spirit.
If a story doesn't answer the questions of childhood, what can it do? Handler shared with us his answer to this question, an answer which he finds in a fan letter he received some time ago. The letter reads as follows:
"Dear Mr Snicket, I read your books. Why do I enjoy them so much? I am always curious when something happens. Your friend, Brandi."
The point being made here is that "this is why stories are interesting, and this is why good literature is good: because we're curious." He argues that curiosity is the one real reason why we engage with literature and that we shouldn't be afraid to ask questions.
So why does Lemony Snicket keep asking questions? In many YA novels our likeable hero or heroine is drawn into or finds themselves in an unpleasant situation; a family experiences a difficulty, death or moving, and our hero overcomes it and at the end everyone is happy. Bullies are stood up to, and evil is evaded. In A Series of Unfortunate Events Snicket/Handler tries to avoid this. He is not demanding realism in fiction, as his own stories do not mimic true life, but he is against the sort of "tidy moralising" presented in many novels. In reality, he says, there is always a "clique which will exclude you" and "bullies never get their comeuppance". However, this is good news as "eventually all of us act like bullies at one time or another and we would like our bully acts forgotten". In the real world people don't die based on whether they're of a pleasant character or not, and not all family issues may be overcome, though they can be absorbed in time. In summary, Handler dislikes the books that "shove the strangeness of the world into the tidiest, offensive conclusions rather than the real lessons that can be learned".
It is because of this that we must always be asking questions, and why Lemony Snicket keeps asking questions. As children we wonder what our place is in the world, and books are able to help answer many of our questions, as well as open up many more. Ultimately Daniel Handler on Childhood reinforced my belief that books have an immense power and an important role to play for young people:
"It made them feel less bewildered, it seems, to be assured that the world is bewildering, and this is perhaps why you never a love a book the way you love a book when you are ten."
To conclude, there are two things I'd like to share with you. The first is a question posed by Handler in his brief stint as a game show host. The answer to this will be posted in my next blog post (which will be about Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events). The second is a wonderful video by The School of Life which I really recommend watching. It's only 4 minutes, though unfortunately I can't issue those 4 minutes back to you if you decide it's not your sort of thing.
For more information on The School of Life please visit their website [here], and for more information on Daniel Handler please visit his website [here].
When you were a child and told 'it's time for bed' this was a secret message that really means:
a) Growing bodies and minds need lots of sleepy time.
b) The adults want to do something that's none of your business.
c) Everyone will abandon you and in the morning you'll be all alone.
d) Life is a nightmare, so why not have one?
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