We’re delighted to welcome our guest on this week’s BOOKCHAT, Catalina Claussen. Catalina is the author of the YA novels Diamonds at Dusk and Diamonds at Dawn. Based in Silver City, NM, Catalina is a founding teacher at Aldo Leopold Charter School. She likes hiking, hunting, scuba diving, singing, gardening, fishing, swimming, reading … you get the idea: she’s a lover of life!
When were you happiest?
The greatest joys in my life are my children, Banyan and Ajalaa Claussen. It is an honor to nurture each one from the miracle of two tiny cells to adulthood, witnessing their unfolding from year after year. Now, as adults, we do amazing projects together like write, photograph, and design my latest book, Being Home.
What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
Swimming. Whether it’s snorkelling with sea turtles in Kua Bay on the Big Island of Hawaii or a dip in a pond in the Mimbres Valley I’m in!
What’s the most important lesson life has taught you?
I am not in control. I used to think that I could fix those who are suffering and now I have learned that happiness is an individual choice. Knowing I am not in control allows me to set down life’s burdens and dive into writing a story without needing to know how it ends.
What book(s) are you reading now?
I do a fair amount of listening at the moment. I love Garrison Keillor’s observational humor in his Lake Woebegone Tales and I admire the bravery of stand-up storytellers in the Moth series.
What books might people be surprised to find on your shelves?
You might be surprised to find the ones I read to my kids when they were babies–Winnie the Pooh, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Where the Wild Things Are and so on. These stories open doors to the imagination and are comfort food for the soul.
Which writers working today do you admire most? Why?
I admire the work of writers such as Francisco Cantú and Valeria Luiselli because they have the courage to speak up about the injustices that surround them in their lines of work and allow readers to come to a deeper understanding of how broken immigration policy impacts real people. These writers are pivotal in my research for my forthcoming young adult novel Holding on to Hope.
Which genres do you read? Which do you avoid? Why?
I love to read YA, memoir, and non-fiction because I have an insatiable curiosity for the range of human experience and a desire to understand the depth and breadth of the struggles we face. From understanding the opioid epidemic, mass incarceration, and the lack of a coherent immigration policy in America to seeing the world through candid youthful eyes, books bring fresh perspective and understanding.
What book(s) “should” you have read but haven’t, or what “classic” couldn’t you finish?
I want to change this question to what classic is my favorite and why. My favorite classic is Beowulf. It is a gritty look at the result of demonizing others. The tale goes on to expose cracks in the pedestals for those we deem heroes. It is also a story that reminds us to do good in the world because our time is short. This book is astounding because it is the first known work of literature in the English language, an epic poem first memorized and told by bards, then written down by clergy, surviving fire and flood, and is now read in many high school classes around the world.
You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?
I would invite William Shakespeare because he had a keen wit and deep love of humanity. He captured characters from servant to king, leaving no reputation untarnished. Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk whose writings on the concept of inter-being are unmatched as is his joyful presence in this moment and every moment. And what dinner party is complete without Maya Angelou’s wit and wisdom?
Tell us about your latest book in no more than 50 words.
Being Home: A Southwestern Almanac is a laugh-out-loud story collection made for radio featuring quirky characters shaped by the seasons, the desert landscape, and small-town living, making audiences feel right at home in the Mimbres Valley.
Where can we find this book?
Visit me on Saturdays 8:30 a.m.-noon at Maker’s Market in the Silver City Main Street Plaza. Copies are available for preview and pre-order. These made-for-radio stories may be heard the 1st and 3rd Mondays at 4:30p.m. on KURU 89.1 FM and are available as a podcast at catalinaclaussenbooks.wordpress.com.
