Karen Cushman

Karen Cushman

Newbery award-winning children’s book author

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Book Extensions

Fear, Propaganda, and Hysteria

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The CrucibleOne of the most famous of plays written in the 1950s in the midst of McCarthyism and the “witch hunts” accusing artists, actors, musicians, and people in many walks of life of being Communists was Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. It uses the allegory of the Salem witch hunts to spotlight the effect fear, propaganda, and hysteria can have on a community. The Loud Silence of Francine Green is set in southern California, where the accusations and suspicions cut deeply into the community of the movie studios and the thousands of people who worked for them.

On PBS, American Masters aired Arthur Miller, Eliza Kazan and the Blacklist: None Without Sin (2003). There are resources on their site that would work well to accompany reading Francine Green and discussing the fear that arises when oppressive tactics are fomented by people in power.

What’s Magic?

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In celebration of my forthcoming fantasy novel, Grayling’s Song, I’m wondering what you think is magical about our own world.

If someone were dropped into our world from another existence, what would they consider to be magical? (We’ll use this information to create a blog post or on social media. Thank you for contributing!)

[democracy id=”2″]

The Hollywood Ten

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The Loud Silence of Francine GreenBackground: The Loud Silence of Francine Green: From reading the book, you know that Francine’s friend Sophie’s father was a screenwriter in Hollywood, which is a factor upon which the plot turns.

You may find it interesting to learn more about Ring Lardner, Jr., a writer who won Academy Awards for M*A*S*H and Woman of the Year. In 1947, he was one of the Hollywood Ten, actors and writers from Hollywood who were questioned by the House Un-American Activities Committee for suspicions of having left-wing or Communist sympathies. He refused to answer questions about his political status and was sent to prison for 12 months and fined $1,000. He was fired as one of the highest-paid screenwriters in Hollywood and blacklisted from working there again. 

Here’s a 90-minute reading by various actors from Ring Lardner, Jr’s, memoir, I’d Hate Myself in the Morning. 

You can listen to an audio clip from The Loud Silence of Francine Green here.