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Children's Literature in Education

, Volume 44, Issue 4, pp 281–294 | Cite as

“Your Tern Now My Tern Later”: A Tribute to the Outlaw Writer Russell Hoban

  • Victoria de Rijke
Invited Article
First Online:

Abstract

Russell Hoban died in December 2011. In this article, Victoria de Rijke celebrates this mysterious writer’s huge contribution to children’s literature over 52 years; a career which began and ended with two mythological books: The Mouse & His Child (1967) and Soonchild (2012). Published in CLE over the years, Hoban wrote about the importance of myth and the writer’s “outlaw self”. This piece explores his unique thinking about the craft of writing fantasy and actuality, and argues for books in “nameless categories” which children and adults can appreciate together.

Keywords

Russell Hoban Myth Fantasy The Mouse and His Child Soonchild Existential Philosophical Cross-over fiction 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

Illustration © 1979 Nicola Bayley, from LA CORONA AND THE TIN FROG by Russell Hoban & illustrated by Nicola Bayley, Reproduced by permission of the artist; Illustration © 2012 Alexis Deacon, from SOONCHILD by Russell Hoban & illustrated by Alexis Deacon, Reproduced by permission of Walker Books Ltd, London SE11 5HJ, www.walker.co.uk; Illustration © 2012 Quentin Blake, from ROSIE’S MAGIC HORSE by Russell Hoban & illustrated by Quentin Blake, Reproduced by permission of Walker Books Ltd, London SE11 5HJ, www.walker.co.uk.

References

Fiction

  1. Hoban, Russell. (1959). What Does It Do and How Does It Work? Power Shovel, Dump Truck, and Other Heavy Machines. New York: Harper.Google Scholar
  2. Hoban, Russell. (1969). The Pedaling Man and Other Poems (Lillian Hoban, Illus.) London: William Heinemann.Google Scholar
  3. Hoban, Russell. (1971). The Mouse and His Child (Lillian Hoban, Illus.) London: Faber & Faber.Google Scholar
  4. Hoban, Russell. (1972). The Sea-Thing Child (Patrick Benson, Illus.). London: Gollancz.Google Scholar
  5. Hoban, Russell. (1974). Kleinzeit. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
  6. Hoban, Russell. (1974). How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Hired Sportsmen (Quentin Blake, Illus.). London: Cape.Google Scholar
  7. Hoban, Russell. (1975). A Near Thing for Captain Najork (Quentin Blake, Illus.). London: Cape.Google Scholar
  8. Hoban, Russell. (1975). Turtle Diary. London: Cape.Google Scholar
  9. Hoban, Russell. (1979). La Corona and the Tin Frog (Nicola Bayley, Illus.). London: Cape.Google Scholar
  10. Hoban, Russell. (1980). Riddley Walker. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
  11. Hoban, Russell. (1983). M.O.L.E. (Jan Pienkowski, Illus.). London: Jonathan Cape.Google Scholar
  12. Hoban, Russell. (1987). The Medusa Frequency. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
  13. Hoban, Russell. (1988). The Marzipan Pig. Harmondsworth: Puffin.Google Scholar
  14. Hoban, Russell. (1992). Moment Under the Moment: Stories, a Libretto, Essays and Sketches. London: Jonathan Cape.Google Scholar
  15. Hoban, Russell. (1995). The Rain Door. (Quentin Blake, Illus.) London: Victor Gollancz.Google Scholar
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  17. Hoban, Russell. (1997a). The Last of the Wallendas. London: Hodder Children’s Books.Google Scholar
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  19. Hoban, Russell. (2010). Soonchild. New York: NYR Children’s Collection.Google Scholar
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  21. Hoban, Russell. (2012). Rosie’s Magic Horse (Quentin Blake, Illus.). London: Walker Books.Google Scholar

Non-fiction

  1. Hoban, Russell. (1971). Thoughts on a Shirtless Cyclist, Robin Hood, Johann Sebastian Bach and One or Two Other Things. Children’s Literature in Education, 4(1), 5–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Hoban, Russell. (1997b). Wilde Pomegranates: The Ghost of a Room and the Soul of a Story. Children’s Literature in Education, 28(4), 19–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Addison, James. (2000). Spring and Fall to a Young Mouse (Child). In Alison Addison (Ed.), Russell Hoban/Forty Years: Essays on His Writings for Children (pp. 83–99). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
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  6. Gates, Geoffrey. (2006). Always the Outlaw: The Potential for Subversion of the Metanarrative in Retellings of Robin Hood. Children’s Literature in Education, 37(1), 69–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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  8. Lavender, Ralph. (1981). Other Worlds: myth and fantasy, 1970–1980. Children’s Literature in Education, 12(3), 140–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Lopez, Gemma. (2006). Goethe to Eckerman, in Preface to Seductions in Narrative. New York: Cambria Press.Google Scholar
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  14. Wilkie-Stibbs, Christine. (1989). Through the Narrow Gate: The Mythological Consciousness of Russell Hoban. Rutherford, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.Google Scholar

Interviews

  1. Russell Hoban. (1984). interviewed by Edward Meyers, originally published in The Literary Review. Used by permission. [http://www.ocelotfactory.com/hoban/rhint1.html]
  2. Transcript of Russell Hoban in Conversation with Will Self at the British Library, 15th February, 2011, in SA4QE The Slickman A4 Quotation Event. [http://sa4qe.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/russell-hoban-in-conversation-with-will.html]
  3. Interview with Russell Hoban, The Guardian, Friday 26 November 2010.Google Scholar
  4. Russell Hoban Obituary, The Independent, Friday 5 October, 2012.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Middlesex UniversityHendonUK

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