Interview with Joanna McClintick, Author of “‘Twas the Night Before Pride / La víspera de orgullo”
‘Twas the Night Before Pride was the culmination of many steps. You have said that the inspiration for the concept came from seeing Pride celebrations through the eyes of children - and knowing that you wanted them to see beyond the glitter and dancing and into the bravery, resistance, and resilience that created Pride. In order to give children some of this history and context, you created a poem that would eventually become the book. Then, in response to the children’s request, you found a way to add pictures and thus created the book! What did the steps of this process feel like for you - from the realization that children needed context to the creation of the poem to the fully realized picture book itself?
It was a many year process. This idea was brewing for a while in my mind, and I would come it on the subway (where I often write songs, poems, or other ideas) and then suddenly took shape in late 2017. I wrote it quickly and not during Pride, but felt excited to share it with my community at our annual pride gathering once that rolled around. We took turns reading lines from it, and the positive response I got made me pursue how to get it published. I looked up how to write query letters, agents that took rhyming picture books, and consulted with those I knew that were published authors. It seemed like a long shot, but I would have bursts of inspiration to keep going between it just sitting in my email drafts. Then, right before I was going to be a mom, I sent it to almost 30 agents, hoping to get a bite. I knew once I had a newborn I wouldn't have time for this! And they all said no, except one! I remember exactly where I was when I got that email. She wrote back to me right away, I was in my office practically jumping up and down. Then the whole process really took off -- I got to work with the amazing people at Candlewick, talk with editors about how to make the work stronger, and have a professional illustrator begin work on it. I couldn't believe it. I have lots of creative projects often cooking in my mind, but this is the first time that I got to work alongside other professionals to make it as wonderful as 'Twas became. When I got the first draft of the pictures, I burst out crying. This book would be nothing without those illustrations, and I feel so fortunate that queer families can see themselves thanks to Juana's amazing work.
You said, in regards to creating a story that would tell children the history of Pride, “I didn’t want to have the heroic bravery of the queer ancestors to get lost in the rainbows.” What does it mean to you to be a teller of their story?
I love queer history, and I am lucky to grow up in a time where I can access so much of that queer history. There are amazing books, podcasts, digital archives, instagram accounts that make Stonewall come alive and the conditions for queers leading up to that moment. I wasn't taught any queer history in school, and whenever I find a new fact about Stonewall or other moments of queer resistance, I feel such gratitude for everything that queer people fought for so we could simply exist. I came out in college, before a lot of online resources existed, but when I found books in the library about queer people back in 2004, it was life-changing. It told the story I only hoped was true: We've always been here. I now offer tours as part of my job at the LGBT Center in Manhattan, and there is a lot of inspiring history in those walls, so I have always loved sharing the history of queer people as I learn more. No one really knows exactly what happened at Stonewall, but thinking about that time and the activists who participated makes me feel brave.
The illustrations in the book are not only beautiful, they are incredibly meaningful, intentional, and historically accurate. From the phase of the moon to the position of the police to the symbol of Edie Windsor’s brooch at the beginning of the retelling of the story - it is clear how much went into these illustrations. Can you describe the process of working with Juana Medina, the illustrator?
Juana and I have only met over Zoom, and that was only after the final product was finished! Once the text is in the hands of the illustrator, it's her artistic vision with the help of Candlewick's art team that makes all final decisions. However, I was able to offer suggestions to my editor on rounds of illustration drafts that she would pass on to Candlewick's art team that would get passed along to Juana -- and she incorporated so much of my feedback. It was amazing to see how thoughtful and intricate Juana's illustrations were. Before I had an illustrator, I was worried. Would the illustrator take the history as seriously as I did? Would the illustrator really be able to capture the spirit of a Pride march? Before I signed with Candlewick, I said upfront how much I wanted an LGBTQ+ identifying illustrator, because I wanted someone that had their own personal relationship to Pride. I also wanted there to be a lot of side stories in the crowd scenes. Juana couldn't have read my mind more! She absolutely nailed it, and we were both in a parallel process of being steeped in movies, books, and other online materials about stonewall to inform this book!
What are some of the responses children have had to ‘Twas the Night Before Pride - at any point in its creation?
Before the illustrations, when I just read my poem to kids, the main response was some version of, "I want to see pictures." But now that the book is out, kids have a lot of questions about the uprising at Stonewall. Kids have asked me, "Did those people get arrested?" "Where was the president?" "Why are there police?" Etc. A few kids have asked me when Pride is and how they can go, especially after the last page. When I do readings/school visits, I ask the children if they have heard of Pride ( I clarify I mean the celebration not the feeling). Some kids have and some kids haven't, but then when I ask, "What community does Pride celebrate?" very few kids know the answer, sometimes a whole classroom will be silent. And this is in NYC! So I wonder if adults don't actually say, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender or Queer to young children. They might say something like, "Love is love," or "This is to celebrate you can love anyone," which is confusing. It's not talking specifically about LGBT people, and their history of oppression. In this time of "Don't Say Gay," I want this book to help adults spell out for children who queer people are, that we exist, and that we have a specific history. "Pride," as it's used in this context isn't just anything you're proud of, like riding a bike for the first time, I wanted this book to explore more deeply the definition that our queer ancestors had in mind when they picked "Pride" as the battlecry for this movement: that we need to call on our courage and power to be proud about a part of ourselves that has systemically and historically been criminalized and pathologized. When engaging with kids about this history, I don't want to scare children, but I also don't want to sanitize and dilute what this is really about: that Pride is about fighting against the targeted oppression of queer people. This is something that Juana and I both took very seriously: how to walk the line of not too scary but real.
‘Twas the Night Before Pride is your debut children’s book. What does it mean to you to be a children’s author?
It's so cool! If it weren't for Clelia Gore, my agent who believed in this book, it would still be sitting in my email drafts. I feel so excited and fortunate that this project got out there and is in the world.
