Author Spotlight: Neil Gaiman
- Library Zest Team
- Mar 29, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 27, 2020
"The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that wasn't there before."
– Neil Gaiman
Neil (as his friends like to call him) is one of the most famous and beloved authors of our day. You might recognize some of his books, like Coraline, Stardust, American Gods, and The Graveyard Book, or perhaps you'd know him from his screenwriting projects, including the English version of Princess Mononoke and select episodes of Babylon 5 and Dr. Who. What I'd like to do is share three stories--just three stories--that I think will highlight the (possibly) lesser-known qualities of his commendable character. We could also think of them as 'three reasons why Neil Gaiman is stupendous', but considering his (prolific and particular) occupation, the stories seemed more fitting.
1. He cares about the little guy
It's not every day we get to come into contact with our heroes, let alone have them back us up when we're trying to be cheeky about something a teacher has advised, but that's exactly what happened to one lucky student who reached out regarding a book report, as shown in the conversation below:
When asked by the student to "confirm [their] friendship" (exploiting what must have seemed like an airtight loophole in the teacher's instructions), Gaiman gives the perfect response: "Absolutely". What I wouldn't give to have been one of the kids in class who got to witness that student-teacher exchange; I just hope the teacher had a good sense of humor! It took just the right mixture of courage, creativity, and gumption for the student to reach out to Gaiman, and I like to think that Gaiman recognized that and chose to reward it in kind.
2. He gives credit where credit is due (and he is magnificently humble)
"Fairy Tales are more than true, not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."
Strange, but true (considering it had to slip though every possible crack on its way from Gaiman's own mind and onto the final printed copy) the quote at the beginning of Gaiman's spooky children's book, Coraline, is a completely incorrect guess at something Chesterton wrote. Credited to G. K. Chesterton (from the book, Tremendous Trifles), but in fact worded by Gaiman, it has been the cause of some confusion and misinformation over the years. There have even been some (sometimes not-so-friendly) discussions as to who the quote actually belongs to (one of those threads in particular got pretty heated).
It turns out that the ability to look something up at a moment's notice, on a whim and absolutely whenever we feel like it, was not always so commonplace. Sometimes people had to wait to find out, ask someone who knew (I'm looking at you, science teacher from Stranger Things), or possibly just forget to look it up entirely! That is exactly what happened to Gaiman, who threw down his best memory of the passage as a place-holder and then forgot to go back and revise it to the correct wording. What makes this story the most worth retelling is the grace and the humility with which Gaiman explains the curious error and how he approaches the now-famous quote's attribution:
"It’s my fault. When I started writing Coraline, I wrote my version of the quote in Tremendous Trifles, meaning to go back later and find the actual quote, as I didn’t own the book, and this was before the Internet. And then ten years went by before I finished the book, and in the meantime I had completely forgotten that the Chesterton quote was mine and not his. I’m perfectly happy for anyone to attribute it to either of us. The sentiment is his, the phrasing is mine."
– Neil Gaiman
Well said, Mr. Gaiman, well said (which brings us directly to our last point):
3. He has a way with words
“Looking out over the world from above, he could never remember feeling so alive as he did in that moment. There was a slyness to the sky and a nowness to the world that he had never seen or felt or realized before.”
– Neil Gaiman
The simplest way to allow our spotlight author to convey his way with words is in his own words. Below I have posted the beautiful lecture he gave to the Reading Agency in 2013 about the importance of libraries and reading (about 25 minutes) and a story he told about his cousin, Helen, for World Refugee Day in 2015 (just over 3 minutes). Enjoy!
Quick link to Neil Gaiman library material: https://www.essa.library.on.ca/client/en_US/essa/search/results?qu=neil+gaiman&te=
Reading Agency Lecture
Neil Gaiman Tells the Story of his Cousin, Helen
The more you learn about people, the more interesting they are.
Join us next time for another spotlight feature! Who will it be?
Victoria Murgante
April 16, 2020
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