In and Out the Window, An Interview with Author Jane Yolen
If you asked me to name some of the greats of children’s and YA literature, Jane Yolen would be at the top of that list. Today, it is my honor to share and interview that I got to have with the renowned author.

First, let me say this, I am such a huge fan of your writing. I’ve been a youth/teen librarian for 30 years now. One of the most profound reading experiences I had was reading Briar Rose. It’s such hauntingly beautiful writing. It is an honor to get to interview you, truly.
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Question 1: Your new book, In and Out the Window, is a collection of poetry, a combination of new and previously published works. When putting together a large poetry collection like this, how do you go about choosing what gets included? What represents you and what you’re trying to say? How many poems, for example, did you start with and how many ended up getting published in this volume?
JY: My editor, Jill Santopolo came to me with the idea. This isn’t typical, but we writers take what we can get and when an editor brings an idea to you, that is pure gold. (Well—a few sheckles anyway!) She wanted a book of about 150 poems for middle grade readers. I asked, in return, could they be both new and published poems,and when she said yes, I began.
I had been writing a poem a day and sending them to about a thousand readers for eighteen years. Mostly adult poems. But often a poem can work for kids as well as adults. Also, I have had several dozen books of poems for that age already published, and some of my novels have children’s poems in them. So, I set about finding those first, then made lists of subject matter for poems I didn’t have.
And then I stopped. I knew I had to have a plan, not just a bunch of unrelated poems—something to link them together. Just as a novel needs a plot, a book of poems needs an arc that works from beginning to end. I thought about format and kept hearing an old childhood song in my head: “Go in and out the window….” I talked with my editor Jill and she was on board with the idea.
Question 2: What is the significance of the title, In and Out the Window?
JY: The significance to me was, first, the breadth it afforded me. Poems about childhood inside and outside. YES. Poems about families. YES. School and school subjects. YES. Sports. YES. I was head of the girls’ basketball team in high school; I rode Lippizanner horses; I had done fourteen years in George Balanchine’s American School of Ballet. In college I was a fencer. Yeah, I liked sports. But I was also a big reader, an early writer, a poetry lover from elementary school on. This book had everything for me.
So, I began rounding up previously published poems, and making distinctions for the various sections of the book.
Question 3: Do you have a favorite, or a couple of favorites, poems in this collection?
JY: I don’t know the complete answer to that….yet. Though the one about MLK is a favorite. It was first published in an anthology for kids.
Question 4: You are prolific in writing both prose and poetry. For young writers and readers, what is the difference in writing these types of projects? In reading?
JY: Poetry is my emotional go-to place and that includes writing song lyrics (operas, folk songs and pop songs). Longer books are harder…not because they are longer, which is hard enough, but revision takes forever, and I want to move on to another project. I have the soul of a poet, but as an ex-editor myself, I have the heart of a reviser.
Question 5: You write for a wide variety of age ranges, which seems like it must be challenging. Do you sit down with each new project knowing the purpose, scope, topic and age, or does it somehow develop organically?
JY: Both and neither. It depends on the project. I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have begun In and Out the Window on my own, but it was handed to me on a golden platter.
I have written all the ways possible: at midnight sitting up in bed with an idea, working on one book that leads to a different one, being asked by an editor for a particular kind of book, being asked to contribute to an anthology on a particular subject (both prose and poetry anthologies, adult and children’s anthologies).
Question 6: When you were a kid, which writers and poets spoke to you?
JY: Lewis Carol’s Alice books, anything about King Arthur, books about ancient days, the Oz books (though later I realized the prose was as flat as Kansas).
Question 7: What poetry is speaking to you now? Is there anything you would recommend to readers who love your work?
JY: My two favorite poets are still Emily Dickinson and William Butler Yeats. No one even comes close. But I do read a lot of poetry and certain poems stick….
Question 8: Let’s talk about feedback from young readers. When kids read your books and talk to you about your poetry, what are they saying? What poems do they mention? What type of feedback do they give you about poetry itself in their lives?
JY: Occasionally, a young reader/writer will send me a poem and very often it is as good or better than some of the adult poems I am sent, because they are real and true to that child and not overloaded with poetry someone has made them learn by heart.
Question 9: If you could be remembered for just one poem, which one would it be?
JY: That’s tough. Let me say it would be a poem from one of three books: In and Out the Window, Kaddish (which is an adult book of adult poems about the Holocaust which won the Sophie Brodie Medal), or the book Owl Moon, which is a picture book but is, itself, a full poem.

Question 10: In a time when parents and legislators are debating the role that books and literature has in the life of kids and we are seeing a lot of book banning happening, what would you like to share with kids/parents/readers about the importance of and power of books in young lives?
JY: We should allow children as well as adults to read the books, the stories, the poems that they want to read and make their own decisions about the worth of those books and poems. The more we read, the broader our worldview gets. That’s as true for children as it is for adults.

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About the author: Jane Yolen was born and raised in New York City and now lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts and Mystic, Connecticut. She graduated from Smith College and received her master’s degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. She has six honorary doctorates from New England colleges and universities for her body of work. The distinguished author of well over four hundred books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. Many of Yolen’s stories and poems are rooted in her sense of family and self. The Emperor and the Kite, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1968 for its intricate paper-cut illustrations by Ed Young, was based on Yolen’s relationship with her late father, who was the international kite-flying champion. Owl Moon, winner of the 1988 Caldecott Medal for John Schoenherr’s exquisite watercolors, was inspired by her husband’s interest in birding. You can visit Jane Yolen online at JaneYolen.com or follow her on Facebook at Facebook.com/JaneYolen.
About the book: For the first time, legendary author Jane Yolen gathers the largest single anthology of her poetry celebrating childhood. At home or at school, playing sports or practicing music, enjoying the holidays or delighting in each season, Jane Yolen’s masterful collection shows just how lively it is to be a kid. With whimsical artwork by Cathrin Peterslund, this collection of more than one hundred poems is a classic that children are sure to return to again and again.
With over 400 books published, Jane Yolen is one of the most acclaimed and prolific authors in children’s literature. From her groundbreaking novella The Devil’s Arithmetic to the picture book classic Owl Moon, Yolen’s works are staples in classrooms of all ages and across the world. Educators and families who enjoy her work will delight in adding this extensive volume to their bookshelves.
The poems in In and Out the Window focus on the big and small moments kids experience day-to-day making this a relatable and accessible introduction to poetry. With delightful black-and-white artwork throughout from Cathrin Peterslund, this anthology from is reminiscent of classic children’s poetry collections, such as those by Shel Silverstein.
Filed under: Poetry

About Karen Jensen, MLS
Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 32 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).
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