Children’s author Michelle Kadarusman grew up in Melbourne, Australia, and has also lived many years throughout Indonesia and in Canada. Her children’s novels have been nominated for various awards and honours including the Canadian Governor General’s Award, USBBY Outstanding International Book List, the Freeman Book Award and the Malka Penn Book Award for Human Rights in Children’s Literature. Her latest book is called The Theory of Hummingbirds.
Today, Michelle Kadarusman is on the blog to answer our Ten Terrifying Questions! Read on …
Michelle Kadarusman
1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?
I grew up in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, the youngest of five children. Three sisters and a brother, we are all very close. I was a rebellious teen and didn’t finish high school. Instead, I read a lot of books. Eventually as an adult living in Toronto, Canada, I went back to school. I highly recommend finishing it the first time!
2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?
I have always wanted to be a writer, but it was a secret and I kept it to myself. I didn’t have the courage to try until I was in my early thirties.
3. What strongly held belief did you have when you were younger that you do not have now?
When I was very young, I was a sceptic. I wasn’t certain that fairies were real, I needed proof. I would spend hours staking out my mother’s house plants and trees in my garden waiting to spot them. Now, as an adult, of course I know fairies are real.
4. What are three works of art – book or painting or piece of music, etc – that you can now say had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?
Little Women – I connected deeply with Jo March. She had 3 sisters like me, she wanted to be a writer, and she had a bad temper.
Out of Africa – the woman, the book and the movie. I am slightly obsessed with Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen). I’ve even been to her museum in Kenya. The museum location is the farmhouse where she once lived and the location for the movie. She was also a painter and some of her work is displayed in the museum. She was enormously talented. I am deeply inspired by brave and adventurous women like her who forged their own path artistically and broke out of the conformity that were expected of them.
New York City. This answer doesn’t truly fit the brief but as a city it’s been my creative touchstone. My sister moved to New York when I was 19 so I’ve spent a lot of time there. Whether it’s a play, a gallery or a walk in Central Park, the energy and vitality of the city never fails to inspire.
5. What made you choose to write a children’s book?
While I have always wanted to be a writer, the idea of writing a book for adults has never crossed my mind. Maybe there is some kind of divining rod that determines the kind of writer you will be? I once heard someone say you write the age that you’re stuck at. For me, I think I write the age I was most happy being.
6. Please tell us about your latest book!
The Theory of Hummingbirds is about a girl named Alba who was born with a clubfoot (like I was). She desperately wants to be “normal” and run in the school cross country race despite her best friend Levi telling her she can’t do it. He is suddenly obsessed with Stephen Hawking and wormholes. It’s a story about friendship and self-acceptance. And hummingbirds!
7. What do you hope kids will take away with them after reading your book?
We all have something that makes us feel different. Sometimes it’s obvious, like Alba’s clubfoot in the story, but often it’s something we keep hidden. I hope readers will be inspired to love themselves for who they are and be accepting of the differences in others.
8. Who do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?
Margaret Atwood. I’ve had the good fortune of working with her (she was a juror on a literary prize I worked on). I admire her brilliance as a writer, but I also admire her pure self-assuredness. When she speaks, she articulates exactly what she means to say with absolute conviction. She’s very wise, sharp as a blade, and funny. Her dry wit is disarming.
9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?
To keep writing stories that I am proud of, that I have a deep connection to, and that represent something I feel is important to share.
10. What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Believe in yourself. Listen to feedback from trusted sources, but always honour your own voice.
Thank you for playing!
—The Theory of Hummingbirds by Michelle Kadarusman (University of Queensland Press) is out now.
The Theory of Hummingbirds
A heartfelt #ownvoices story celebrating best friends, wormholes and loving who you are.
Alba has been best friends with Levi since forever. They're both obsessed with hummingbirds and spend their lunchtimes hiding out in the school library. Alba normally doesn't mind that Levi's got a science theory on just about everything. But when he becomes convinced the school librarian has discovered a wormhole in her office, Alba thinks maybe he's gone too far...
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