Maira Kalman is an author and illustrator; she talks about her life and work, from her books fro children and grown-ups to her covers from the New Yorker. Her talk was very at ease, comfortable, real and also very witty. She doesn’t just talk and sound like a robot like a lot of speakers do, but she talks from her heart, her personality shines through from the beginning.
She talks about writing children’s books and that she doesn’t like talking down to them, that she has to condense her story or idea to be suitable for a children’s book and also maybe slightly change language so as it is suitable and readable for a child. However not make it so once it has been read you wouldn’t want to read it again and again (like mist children’s books-to an adult), in doing this the book has appeal to both children and grown-ups. She illustrates the pages from photos or real life and includes personal stories and loved objects. Maira also includes things personal such as dreams she has had. She also likes to include a dialogue between children and grown-ups and different humours.
‘I don’t like plots. I don’t know what a plot means. I can’t stand the idea of anything that starts in the beginning — you know, ‘beginning, middle and end.’
Maira is constantly making the audience laugh out loud and keeps them interested in what she is talking about. You can see this part of her personality in her work, from the covers of The Newyorker to pages she painted for books. She came up with this cover for The Newyorker with Rick Meyerowitz. Her personality certainly comes through.
I think this has been one of my favourite talks as she makes you feel like you know her, like you’re friends. She makes the crowd very comfortable and is a very witty, wonderful and wise character.
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