Michael Morpurgo
In issue 36 of Wordsmith we had Michael as a guest author and he answered some questions for us.
Below is an extended interview with him. Michael is a well-known children’s author of books such as ‘War Horse’ and ‘Running Wild’ and was appointed Children’s Laureate in 2003. His two new novels this year are ‘Not Bad for a Bad Lad’ and ‘An Elephant in the Garden’.
What do you like most about being an author?
Being an author means that I get to travel all over the UK and the world, meeting people and hearing their stories. But I also love the time I spend at home in Devon. There is a freedom about being an author, taking an idea and weaving the story in my head until I write it down.
If you could only keep one book out of your whole personal book collection which one would it be and why?
That’s so difficult to answer. From my own books, it would probably have to be ‘War Horse’, ‘The Butterfly Lion’ or ‘Running Wild’, but from other people’s books, there’s ‘The Happy Prince’ by Oscar Wilde. This was the first story, I think, that ever made me cry. What was strange was that I wanted to read it over and over again. It still has the power to make me cry. And ‘Treasure Island’, which was the first real book I read for myself. Jim Hawkins was a character I identified with totally. I lived this book as I read it. Finally, a book called ‘The Man Who Planted Trees’ by Jean Giono is a book for children from 8 to 80. It’s the tale of one man’s dedication to planting trees and how it has a profound effect on a region of south-east France. I love the humanity of this story and how one man’s efforts can change the future for so many. It’s a real message of hope.
Is there a particular book that you haven’t read yet, which you would like to read in the future?
I’d love to read a book called 'The Music Room' by a writer called William Fiennes. It’s an autobiographical account of growing up in Oxfordshire with a brother who has epilepsy. It’s a beautiful account of childhood.
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