Debut You is an interview feature on Our Stories Matter blog. Debut authors, who have released or have upcoming releases in 2022, are given five questions to answer about themselves and their book. Currently, the questions are the same for all authors. We hope you enjoy getting to know Kathlyn J. Kirkwood and can offer your support. Go here for past Debut You features.
Describe yourself in five words, then expound on one of them.
Funny, inquisitive, thorough, kind, and passionate.
The one quality that resonates the most is thorough because it really feels like a larger manifestation of my passion and sense of inquiry. Once I really focus on something, it’s like I have blinders on—I spend a lot of time investigating and researching the ins and outs and try to learn everything I possibly can about that subject.
Explain your book’s journey—how long did it take—from idea to publication?
The book took approximately 10 years! It began as oral history: I was sharing my Civil Rights experience in a presentation titled “How Dr. King’s Day Came to Be” to young adults and teens in seminars and workshops. One of my church members, Jeanne Arradonda, attended and suggested that I should write a book. While I liked the idea, my focus was on another book called Pound Cake. It was my elder daughter, Anaxet, who helped me to re-focus during a period of writer’s block. I remember she said to me, “I don’t want to hear another word about Pound Cake! Your attention should be on your activist journey. You’re going to be really upset if someone else writes your story.” And it hit me, that was my a-ha moment, and shortly thereafter, I sat down to start writing “Ain’t Gonna.”
The actual writing of the book was relatively easy, but the revision and editing process was a humbling experience. I wrote so many drafts—I eventually lost count! Sometimes there were massive revisions, and sometimes the changes were as simple as a word or two. I actually have copies of every book draft—they live in a series of crates tucked away in our attic.
Belief in oneself is important; besides you, who has been your cheerleader(s) throughout this process?
I don’t even know where to begin! I would say that I’ve had cheerleaders in stages. My very first was my agent Janna, who at the time was my writing coach. When I first met her, she was editing a different manuscript that I was working on, and we got into a conversation about my passion for literacy and working with disadvantaged youth. I shared with her my husband and my program, “Team Kirkwood Literacy Lab,” where we bring books to life for young students. She was so impressed that she offered to help me in any way she could with getting my work published.
My other cheerleaders have been: my children—my oldest, Anaxet, who I would say was my very first editor, and my youngest, Juliette, who is my continuous encourager; my husband, Alan, who would oftentimes remind me to dream big and say “the success of this book will be even greater than you can imagine!”; and my best friend, Linda, who has always been passionate about me completing the book and believing it would come to fruition.
Understanding your audience is essential. What do you know for sure about the audience you are writing for?
What I know for sure is that my audience has the potential to change the world for the better. There are so many challenges across the globe that need attention and foot soldiers for change. I truly believe that each of us, regardless of age, gender, socio-economic status, or any other factors, has a responsibility to find our passion and invest in that passion. For me, as I write in the book, it took something as tragic as the assassination of Dr. King to really open my eyes and inspire my dreams to become rooted in purpose. My hope for my audience is that they do not wait for tragedy to hear and heed their own calls. I also want them to know that activism can take many forms. All my siblings were activists in their own right—from helping first-generation students faced with food insecurity to sitting at a Woolworth’s counter to refusing to play “Dixie” and being kicked out of the band—your activism doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. You get to define and create your own activism.
Tell us about your book.
It’s on sale for $16.99, and you can pre-order it!! Lol.
On a more serious note, the book follows and connects three different threads:
1. My story
2. The nameless, faceless foot soldiers
3. The federal legislation in making the day a national holiday.
For my story, the book is my coming-of-age—about me coming to the realization that I have a commitment to help those around me and that there’s a passionate activist that lives inside of me. The foot soldiers’ thread is the story of the myriad (thousands) of nameless and faceless people who worked for years to realize Dr. King’s birthday as a national holiday. “You don’t know my face, you don’t know my name, but the day Dr. King was assassinated, I became a foot soldier,” is how the book starts and really captures the spirit of what I really wanted to convey.
The final thread—legislation—focuses on how a bill becomes a law and all the steps, committees, and votes that are necessary. There’s a wonderful infographic by Chenjelani Whatley that details that process.
I don’t want to give away too much because I really want people to buy the book [laughs again]. But that’s basically what it’s about. I want to honor and respect those who have worked so very hard to make a change, and I also want people, especially my younger audience, to understand that change takes time. It does not happen overnight. In this particular instance, it was really 15 years!
YOU did it, congratulations! Your story is going to be read by children or teens, educators, parents, librarians, book bloggers, etc. How do you feel, and are there any other projects in the works—that you can discuss?
I feel WONDERFUL! I feel wonderful that I got it done—that I have an outstanding team of people who helped me get to this point. I do have some other book ideas in mind, but in the meantime, I’m continuing to focus on my husband and my non-profit literacy initiative, Better B LLC, which encompasses Team Kirkwood Literacy Lab, Better B Book Club, and Professional Development training for helping teachers bring books to life.
Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round: My Story of the Making of Martin Luther King Day
Kathlyn J. Kirkwood | Steffi Walthall | Versify | January 4 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Kathlyn J. Kirkwood is a retired college professor who now focuses on writing for children and volunteering with underprivileged third- and fourth-grade students in the Nashville area. She has developed several innovative workshops that help young people learn about the world beyond their immediate surroundings and inspire in them a love of reading.
Connect with Kathlyn J. Kirkwood
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