Doug Wilhelm at the University of Rochester’s Horizons Program

The first Horizons Program launched 50 years ago in New Canaan, CT, and has grown to 40+ programs throughout the country. Surprisingly (or not?), 5 of them are right here in Rochester (with Harley being the oldest, Allendale Columbia the newest, and the University of Rochester, Monroe Community College, and Nazareth College rounding out the group). The goal of Horizons is to be “a transformative, educational summer enrichment program serving low-income public school students with a broad range of academic abilities.” (for more information, visit http://www.horizonsnational.org/approach)

Charlie and I have recently become involved in The Horizons Program at the U of R’s Warner School. We are sponsoring a child for a few years, and I had volunteered to the director, Lynn Gatto, that I could facilitate a visit by my Vermont friend Doug Wilhelm (and the husband of a college friend), who is an author of young-adult fiction. Lynn promptly ordered four of his books for the middle-school kids to read in small groups, including The Revealers and Prince of Denial. Doug’s visit was scheduled near the end of the session, so the kids would have time to read the books and get excited about meeting the author.

that's Lynn in the hat for 'wacky hat day'

About 25 middle schoolers, along with their teachers, Lynn, Charlie and I gathered with Doug in a conference room, and he gave a brief introduction before inviting questions. At 6’ 10” he is almost always the tallest person in the room, and growing up, he was the “weird, skinny, annoying kid” who was taunted by his peers. An early turning point was in ninth grade, when an English teacher prohibited the kids from making fun of each other in class. He finally started standing up for himself, and gained the self-confidence to start writing. His first book, an attempt to understand the Muslim world, remains unpublished, after ten years of writing and 75 rejections. However, he found his voice, and his audience, in the world of young adult fiction. His one proviso in answering questions was that the students first had to share one thing about themselves. This turned out not to be a gimmick – Doug was really listening, and often asked the students questions himself, and referred back to their interests later in the discussion (he also occasionally took notes – who knows what might find its way into a future book?). Doug's books deal with issues like bullying and substance abuse, and it was heartbreaking to hear some of the students mention their own experience of family substance abuse so casually and matter-of-factly.

Q: Is writing his passion?

A: Yes. He has all these stories swirling in his brain and “the only way to get it out of your head is to write it down.” He likes to write as a “clue for the reader’s imagination,” and to be able to “connect with the reader, and make it real for the kids.” His hope is that young adult readers, with their individual lives and experiences, will identify with at least some part of the characters and situations, and feel like they are part of the story.

one of the smaller book groups

Q: Is writing hard?

A: He likened it to being an athlete or a musician; to be good enough to perform in front of people, one needs much practice. “The secret to writing is never to expect the first draft to be any good.  Rewriting is a natural part of the process.” He also reflected that writers, unlike athletes and stage performers, rarely get applause, and that he wished kids with other interests would get more applause (it was great that the Horizons day begins with “high 5s” from the teachers for the handful of students who have done something noteworthy the prior day – who doesn’t want to feel special, even for just a minute?).

Q: Where did the idea for the intervention in one of the books come from?

A: From a real-life intervention for his mother, when he was in his 40s (Doug writes from experience – both of his parents had issues with alcohol abuse).

and another

Q: Why did he choose a Filipino for one of his characters, who becomes the subject of nasty rumors?

A: Doug wanted the girl to be from a foreign culture, since “if you have ignorance about someone’s culture, it’s easier to believe bad things about them.” He asked the questioner whether she and her classmates could relate to this, and she innocently answered, “since it’s 6^th grade, you don’t get a lot of prejudice.” (It made me think of the South Pacific song whose last verse is: “You've got to be taught before it's too late, Before you are six or seven or eight, To hate all the people your relatives hate, You've got to be carefully taught!”)

Q: What was the inspiration for Falling?

A: Sadly, it is Rutland, where Doug previously lived, and which has lately been in the news for its widespread heroin problem. He described the availability of drugs in schools as a dangerous obstacle course for kids growing up.

Q: What was the inspiration for True Shoes?

A: Doug had gotten a lot of questions from students about what happened to the characters is The Revealers “after” so he decided to write a sequel to resolve some of the unanswered issues (and pose some new ones, of course!)

Doug was really great with the kids, never talking down to them – but still relating to them on their level. He could have stayed with these kids all day, but their lunch beckoned, and Doug had a commitment in Buffalo. Before he left, he shared his e-mail address with the group and sincerely encouraged them all to correspond with him (one aspiring writer seemed certain to follow through!). I hope he'll return in a few years when the current third-fifth graders are old enough for these books…