I’ve taken most of my stands in fiction…
In Armstrong & Charlie I wrote about a friendship between two boys, one black, one white, who meet through desegregation busing in 1970s Los Angeles. Charlie takes a stand against his hero, who turns out to be a bully; and he takes a stand against his own father, whose fear blinds him to the truth that his son needs a friend. The book is based on my own experience as a person of privilege growing up in the Hollywood Hills, when a long yellow bus brought new faces, new stories, into my neighborhood.
In real life, I wanted to be friends with Kivi (the model for Armstrong in the book) but we lived on opposite sides of the city — I in Laurel Canyon, he in in South L.A. in the Pueblo del Rio projects. On a map, that’s only 12 miles apart. In real life, boulders blocked the way: big concepts I didn’t understand like racism, redlining, and unconscious bias. As a kid, I didn’t know how to begin to move them. In fiction, Charlie finds a way.
In Class Action I wrote about children who feel like their childhoods are being stolen by anxiety to perform. Homework, grades, college plans… The Future always looming. Sam takes a stand — literally. He gets up on his desk, holds up a NO HOMEWORK sign, and starts a revolution. In real life I don’t know many 6th graders who would risk the wrath of their parents and teachers by refusing to do their homework. But in fiction, Sam’s defiance gets families, schools, and the Supreme Court itself to think about the whole life of a child, not just their test scores.
In real life, change is slow. Fiction can speed things up. It can light a fire of indignation. That’s a word I love. It means anger for a just cause.
Sometimes, real life gives us indignation warriors. Emma Gonzalez, who shouted truth to power after 34 students and teachers at her high school were killed by a gunman who should never have had a gun, is an indignation warrior. Megan Rapinoe, star forward of U.S. Women’s Soccer, who sued the U.S. Soccer Federation for equal pay, is an indignation warrior. Greta Thunberg, the climate activist who called shame on world leaders for ignoring the time bomb of global warming, is an indignation warrior. Alicia Garza, Opal Tometti, and Patrisse Cullors, founders of Black Lives Matter, who turned outrage to inspiration in the hearts of over 500 million protestors last summer as they raised their arms, their voices — and later their votes — against police brutality toward black citizens in America… they are indignation warriors too.
These are bold, brave people. They inspire me as a writer.
I’m writing a sequel to Class Action. The kid activists have a new client: Mother Earth.
This time it’s Alistair who takes the initial stand against an injustice. He literally stops a train that is transporting oil from the tar sands of Canada to a refinery in Portland, Oregon. Alistair is motivated by many things: the death of a billion koalas in the Australian wildfires; the destruction of the rainforest for palm oil profits; the rising “fever” of the planet that threatens all life upon it. But he’s also motivated by his crush on Greta Thunberg. He has gone vegan because of her. He’s learning Swedish because of her. And, besides his goal to save the planet, he’s desperate to make dinner for her. “Man, what I wouldn’t give to cook for her. Just one meal.”
Real life gives us real indignation warriors. Fiction allows us to fall in love with them, take up their cause, and join them in taking a stand.
– Steven B. Frank, NEW BOOK JOY Guest Author
About the Author
Steven B. Frank
is the author of Class Action (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), Armstrong & Charlie (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), and The Pen Commandments: A Guide for the Beginning Writer (Pantheon/Anchor).
His short stories and plays have appeared in Weekly Reader’s READ and WRITING FOR TEENS magazines.
”Mr. Frank” is also a longtime beloved English teacher at Le Lyçée Français de Los Angeles, where his students deliberately misbehave because he punishes them with fun writing topics.
Steven lives in Laurel Canyon, California.
You can read more about him and his books on his website www.stevenbfrank.com.
Conversation
What authors help YOU & your family take a stand?
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