Madeleine L'Engle 1918-2007

[vicki]

Beloved children's author Madeleine L'Engle has died. Here is the New York Times obituary (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/books/08lengle.html?ref=books).

A Wrinkle in Time was one of the books that truly made me a Reader.

:..(

[Smurrey]

L'Engle is my favorite youngs adult author of all time. I even enjoy her non fiction (and that hardly ever happens.) Walking on Water is one of the 8 NF books I've actually read cover to cover more than once just because I wanted to. this is my favorite quote from that book.

"We are hurt; we are lonely; and we turn to music or words, and as compensation beyond all price we are given glimpses of the world on the other side of time and space. We all have glimpses of glory as children, and as we grow up we forget them, or are taught to think we made them up; they couldn’t possibly have been real, because to most of us who are grown up, reality is like radium, and can be borne only in very small quantities. But we are meant to be real, and to see and recognize the real. We are all more than we know, and that wondrous reality, that wholeness, holiness, is there for all of us, not the qualified only."
Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water

[vicki]

<Sob!>

Oh, dear--I feel a L'Engle reading-jag coming on. I haven't, after all, read the Chronos books, and that is very wrong indeed.

[jtb1951]

I heard the news of her passing yesterday on NPR and was saddened that one of the greats had left us, but was equally gladdened to ponder the legacy that she left us! I was first introduced to her when the newly published A Wrinkle In Time popped up at my local library, and the world that she presented just reinforced in me a love for the science fiction and fantasy worlds that Asimov and Heinlein had opened. She was a true master of writing, and she will be missed!

John.

[Strawberry Curls]

I was so saddened by this great woman's passing. In another lifetime, when my son was in elementary school, I took on the task of running the PTA library. My eyes were opened to the world of Kid Lit, as it was called then. I suppose the term is Young Adult fiction now, but Kid Lit it was then. I had never read A Wrinkle In Time but soon remedied that as it came to my attention. I kept thinking, this is so rich, so wonderful how can it be classified as Kid Lit? The answer was the genius of Ms. L'Engle, she wove a tale with such a dense structure it could be read by all ages and enjoyed. Her passing is a great loss, but the world is richer for her books.

[vicki]

Ooops--I forgot to thank KarenB for first posting this over in the Chit-Chat thread. Thanks, Karen! <Waves>

That's cool that you ran the PTA library, Strawberry! I spent some of my happiest hours of childhood in school libraries. My first read of AWiT was probably a library copy. I remember being so fired up about it, I'd run in every chapter or so and pester my mom by reading passages to her until she was completely exasperated. If we'd had the internet back then, I'd have been googling all over it, looking for information on dimensions, tesseracts and the whole nine yards.

[KarenB]

I think she is/was the only author to whom I ever wrote. She send back a lovely handwritten note in reply - impressed me beyond words! I have made a journey to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in her honor as well - beautiful place, although quite large! She wrote so much that provoked thought long after reading, the mark of an excellent author. She will be missed.