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Hello Mr. Coville! Serious question here. I was wondering how you deal with readers (mainly parents) who feel scandalized by the frank portrayal of homosexuality in The Skull of Truth. As a kid myself when I first read the book back in 1999, I admit I was made uncomfortable by that aspect (it just wasn't a cultural conversation we were having at any kind of mainstream level at that time), but ultimately it shook me out of my complacency and made me examine my biases. I'm glad art exists to make us uncomfortable sometimes. For my part, I wish I could explain to those sorts of parents that they don't do their children any favors by hiding them from the truths of the world.
Reply by Bruce Coville
Hi, Eric -
Many thanks for this message. I'm quite delighted to know how SKULL OF TRUTH impacted you, personally. It was one of the first middle grade novels to acknowledge that gayness exists, and I take a great deal of pride in that. Some people have said it was brave to included that, but it never felt brave to me. It just felt as if that was what should happen in the story. (Every time someone says that something I have written, or said in a lecture, was brave, my feeling is I was either too dumb or too cranky to be afraid!)
I got less pushback than I expected, though I am sure that there are things that I don't know about - most especially schools and libraries that simply never bought the book because of it's content, despite it being part of an extremely successful series. The only specific penalty I've paid for my "bravery" was having four "Christian" schools drop out of a tour I was doing in Korea when someone read the book and felt scandalized.
So I really haven't had to deal with much direct confrontation on the book. When it does come up, my response varies with what I can sense about whoever is complaining. Is this person amenable to reason? Can I have a conversation? Or am I facing a mind that is locked and closed. The basic point I want to make if I have someone I can have a conversation with is that this is simply an acknowledgment of reality, and a situation that many, many families will at some point find themselves face to face with. Pretending it's not real will not make it go away!
Many thanks for this message. I truly appreciate it.
BC
Many thanks for this message. I'm quite delighted to know how SKULL OF TRUTH impacted you, personally. It was one of the first middle grade novels to acknowledge that gayness exists, and I take a great deal of pride in that. Some people have said it was brave to included that, but it never felt brave to me. It just felt as if that was what should happen in the story. (Every time someone says that something I have written, or said in a lecture, was brave, my feeling is I was either too dumb or too cranky to be afraid!)
I got less pushback than I expected, though I am sure that there are things that I don't know about - most especially schools and libraries that simply never bought the book because of it's content, despite it being part of an extremely successful series. The only specific penalty I've paid for my "bravery" was having four "Christian" schools drop out of a tour I was doing in Korea when someone read the book and felt scandalized.
So I really haven't had to deal with much direct confrontation on the book. When it does come up, my response varies with what I can sense about whoever is complaining. Is this person amenable to reason? Can I have a conversation? Or am I facing a mind that is locked and closed. The basic point I want to make if I have someone I can have a conversation with is that this is simply an acknowledgment of reality, and a situation that many, many families will at some point find themselves face to face with. Pretending it's not real will not make it go away!
Many thanks for this message. I truly appreciate it.
BC