A couple of weeks ago I received a very excited phonecall from Cornelia Oberlander. She wanted to tell me that April 2008 - the very month my biography about her was being released - had been declared “National Landscape Architecture Month”. The reason? The American Society of Landscape Architects wants to encourage students and parents to “Discover Careers in Landscape Architecture”.

That was part of why I wrote Love Every Leaf: the life of landscape architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander too. I wanted people to know about this remarkable woman and the work she has done (and continues doing on into her 80s!) And I wanted young people contemplating their future careers to be aware of the landscape architect option. “It’s a magnificent profession,” says Cornelia.

The ASLA chose April as National Landscape Architecture Month in part because it encompasses Earth Day and landscape architects are hugely aware of their opportunities and responsibilities to help take care of the planet.  Cornelia (a member of both ASLA and CSLA, the Canadian counterpart) is one of the profession’s pioneers in this way of thinking.

The president of the ASLA has launched an “Each One, Reach One” campaign, challenging each of the Society’s 18,200 members to reach out to at least one K-12 student during April to introduce them to careers in landscape architecture. What better way for them to do it than by buying all those students a copy of Love Every Leaf!

Since that call from Cornelia, she has sent me an email telling me that the International Federation of Landscape Architects has all kinds of events planned for World Landscape Architecture Month! Why not make reading Cornelia’s biography one of them?!

Two big surprises at the Literacy Conference in Burlington last weekend.

1. The onsite bookseller, Different Drummer, had on hand a big stack of Love Every Leaf: The Life of Cornelia Hahn Oberlander - and it wasn’t scheduled for release till several days later! (It looks gorgeous, and after I spoke about it briefly during my keynote address, they sold out quickly.)

2. The night before the conference, I learned that Janet Lee Stinson and Arnie Stewart (see I’ve Got Mail posting) were planning to attend. Not only did I get to meet these two remarkable people, Arnie helped make my keynote address a truly memorable event for everyone there. After mentioning the correspondence I’d been enjoying with Janet Lee, I looked around for where they might be sitting, thinking the audience might like to recognize them. But Arnie surprised me (and his wife and Janet Lee) by coming up to the front of the room, where he described letters he has exchanged with children who have struggled with learning to read. He said he knows he will like my new book, A Pocket Can Have A Treasure In It. He then took from his pocket a stone and placed it in my hand. “Put this in your pocket,” he said, “and it will bring you good luck.”

Before going off to sign autographs (for 3 hours! what a great bunch of readers that audience was!), I had a chance to visit with Arnie and hear some more of his personal stories about learning to read. Janet Lee is working on his biography and plans to apply to a writing workshop/retreat that my husband and I are offering this summer. (See “Summer Workshop/Retreat by the Sea” posting.) I hope she does!

To read Janet Lee’s account of Arnie’s participation in last week’s event, and about how the good luck stone circle has been completed, visit Janet Lee’s blog (and find the entry for Apr9/08).

Happy reading!

Once in a while something lands in your inbox that just makes your day. Such was the case for me recently, when a literacy consultant in Simcoe County wrote to tell me about the impact of my book King of the Castle on her and some people she knows.

“I am writing a biography about a man named Arnie Stewart,” Janet-Lee Stinson wrote. “Arnie is 62 years old and he has struggled for his entire life without being able to read and write. Arnie bravely tells his secret to audiences full of students who have lost all hope.” She went on to say, “Today, I was working on compiling student letters for a new book to accompany Arnie’s biography. Inside one of the envelopes, was a copy of your King of the Castle. On the inside cover a grade 6 student wrote, “Dear Arnie, This book will remind you of you and me. From Mitchell.” I positioned myself in my favourite chair flooded with a glorious sunbeam to read it. Reading your book brought tears to my eyes because it was very close to the story Arnie has lived. I had to send you an email to tell you how touched I was by this “coincidence.” 

Janet invited me to visit Arnie’s website www.arniestewart.org where I found out more about the man, the work that he and Janet are doing, and about an award he has created for a student and family who have overcome literacy struggles. Mitchell was one of its first recipients. Congratulations, Mitchell!

Since my first email from Janet, a film about Arnie called “A Canadian Hero”, made by two grade eight students, has been selected as a finalist for the Toronto Film Festival, Sprockets.  Congratulations Jake and Mac! 

Congratulations Janet and congratulations Arnie!