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Pamela Palmer Mutino
Author of Swish: Maria in the Mourning
Book Room Author Interview
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BRR: What book are you reading right now?
The book I am about to read is Donald
Miller's, Blue Like Jazz, which was recommended to me yesterday by one
of my high school students!
BRR: I am fascinated with book covers, how did you
come up with yours?
My book cover: When looking through
my parents' wedding album several years ago I was struck by the last page
photograph. After pages of happy wedding day moments, here they were in
this embrace that took my breath away; there was something so tragic and
foreboding about what was to be the beginning of their journey. My mom
was diagnosed with breast cancer at 39 while pregnant with my younger sister,
and passed away when I was ten; somehow, all the desperate urgency of life was
in that old photograph. When I was frantically framing every moment
of my daughter's life when she passed away, the photo of her and her beloved
Frankie taken in the park before his senior prom became a recrudescence for me;
Frankie was holding her with that same sense of desperation. I
immediately cropped the four of them together as if they were on the same
dance floor to symbolize the timelessness that joy and sorrow can
intertwine. I then added the lyrics to Goodnight, Sweetheart as
a border around the photo and framed it for my mantle. When it was time to
choose a cover for my book I realized how this photo truly captured what I was
unable to articulate when I had the "eerie premonition" on November
23rd, and wrote about the significance of the number 23. My mother was 23
on her wedding day, our home address was
BRR: If you could say anything to your readers
what would it be?
Never underestimate the power of
words! In Swish, I
reiterate the letter I wrote to the hospital where I was not treated with
compassion at the time of my daughter's death.
Six weeks later I met with the hospital
chiefs of staff and was told that they had already fired the insensitive doctor
I described in detail...just based on my letter! They also changed their
protocol as a result, so that no family would ever be treated that way
again! Also, I wrote Swish for everyone; if my book was
not able to speak to some aspect of the human condition fifty years from now, I
would not have written it.
BRR: Our website is called Book Room Reviews, so
tell us about your "book room" or book area (What is in it? What's your favorite item in it? What favorite book or books are in it?)
I call it "my study."
Aside from my computer that is neatly in the corner so it does not conflict
with the decor, this is my place to read, write, work and even have coffee with
friends as we sit on the sofa. Formerly my daughter's bedroom, it is large,
sunny and bright with the flow of positive energy at all times, so much so,
that my guests hate to leave. I have a built in bookshelf for art books,
books on Religion, Philosophy, Theater and writing. My bookcases are
divided between the American and British classics, and lots of poetry
books. My desk is a vintage roll-top that I picked up at The
Salvation Army and antiqued myself. The only colors allowed against the
earth tones are the softest corals and sea greens with candles and fresh
flowers. The walls are covered with framed posters and news articles
from my plays, all of my daughter's awards and pictures of her, and
I have jeweled picture frames on all the surfaces. This
upstairs room also has the best view of the gardens.
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Interview Posted: June 11, 2008
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