Tour America

Chronicle Books: From New Hampshire's formidable Mount Washington to San Francisco's spectacular Golden Gate Bridge, the amazing diversity of the United States is brilliantly captured in this poetic and visual tour de force. Tell us a little about your inspiration for the book.

Diane Siebert: In 1971, my husband and I hatched a plan: we would sell whatever possessions we could, buy two motorcycles, and spend the summer seeing America. And that's exactly what we did . . . except that our summer trip turned into a ten-year journey. When money ran low, we found jobs, and saved until we could travel on. We met hundreds of interesting people and gained a real appreciation for America's big cities and rural towns, its scenic wonders, and its wildlife and natural resources. We camped most of the time and had good adventures and some not-so-good adventures. Occasionally we fell off our motorcycles. But every evening, no matter what, I wrote in my journal, and the poems, prose, and music scribbled on those pages eventually turned into poetry and children's books. Tour America is a collection of writings about just a few of my favorite sights in these great United States.

CB: Children will be fascinated by your selection of places—some are funny: Lucy The Elephant in New Jersey, The Oregon Vortex, Cadillac Ranch in Texas. Other sites are of great historical interest: The USS Constitution, The Washington Monument, Mount Rushmore. Of all of the rich and varied places that you ventured to, can you tell us about a place or two that was a special highlight?

DS: I like wild places, so the Badlands of South Dakota was fascinating to me. But the bristlecone pines of the Great Basin National Park in Nevada is most special to me because I lived nearby for a couple of years and fought hard for the establishment of Wheeler Peak's national park status. I wrote letters, made phone calls, and spoke before a U.S. Senate Subcommittee. You can imagine how happy I was to attend the Great Basin National Park's dedication.

CB: Diane Siebert's travels around the country were the genesis of her poems for Tour America. Stephen, what have your travels around America been like?

Stephen T. Johnson: Most of my travels around America were with my parents, even through high school with exception of school trips, and in particular, with the marching band and symphony (I played the French horn). With my family, we have traveled across, camped in, and explored the United States of America coast to coast. I have driven across and sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge, heard the roar and felt the spray of Niagara Falls, experienced deserts, mountains, the sweep of our prairies and the dappled lights of the mysterious Everglades. As an adult, most of my travels in America have a direct relation to my children's books!

STJ: Having lived in New York City for over thirteen years, the images from there are particularly close to my heart. I have admired and photographed many gargoyles perched atop or hidden amongst the decorative motifs of many buildings.

CB: Diane, you include wonderful poems in Tour America about New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Las Vegas and other cities. But your poems about the natural world are especially stirring. It's clear you have a true passion for the nature.

DS: I've been an environmentalist for 30 years. Even as a child, I just wanted to be outdoors and was happiest out in nature. This affliction was exacerbated by my travels around America and having my eyes opened to the beauty and fragility of this country's land and wildlife as well as the finiteness of its resources. I now live in a very remote place, off the grid on solar and wind power on 120 acres of dedicated wildlife habitat. My husband and I do everything we can to protect the wildlife here. I do volunteer work on these public lands, everything from picking up trash to checking wildlife guzzlers (waterers), and watching for poachers. I could go on forever about my "passion for place." To me, no man-made experience can compare to the sight of a bald eagle soaring over the nearby canyons and rivers, the sun setting behind the Cascade Mountain Range, or the sound of coyote families yelping and singing from several different directions at once. I often enjoy the company of coyotes during my daily run with our dogs. Oddly, there are several coyotes that seem to enjoy running along behind us and engaging our dogs in games of tag. They have been doing this for almost a decade. What a gift it is to have these experiences. I've even learned how to relocate rattlesnakes by using snake tongs, a bucket with a lid, and steady nerves.

CB: Rattlesnakes! Well, we're sure your poems in Tour America will be very inspiring to children, showing them the breadth of beauty and diversity in our country and its landscape, as well as fostering in them a love of poetry. Have you enjoyed your collaboration with Stephen T. Johnson?

DS: I was so pleased when Stephen agreed to illustrate Tour America. His artworks for the book are not only extremely beautiful, but very interesting to look at . . . each one of them so unique and unlike the rest . . . each one a little masterpiece. Sometimes the illustrator is not on the same track as the author, but Stephen seemed to know what I was thinking and feeling. I thank him!

CB: Stephen, readers will be fascinated by how varied the mediums, styles, techniques are for the artwork you created for the book. How has this experience been different in comparison to other children's books you've created?

STJ: Well, initially, I was asked to illustrate Tour America because of the appeal of my realistic paintings for my books Alphabet City and City By Numbers which showcase the urban landscape. The editor and publisher, aware of my artistic disposition to explore possibilities in both the realms of realism and abstraction, encouraged me to develop visual counterparts that would capture the essence of the poems and places. The freedom to create art according to one's vision and style in a variety of mediums is, of course, an artist's dream. And so, in keeping with the forms, contents, and moods of Diane's poems, my artwork in a variety of mediums—acrylic, charcoal, colored pencils, collage, gouache, graphite, ink, oils, pastel, photography and watercolors—celebrates the colors, diversity, and rich textures of America.

CB: Of all of the stunning artwork you created for Tour America, are there one or two pieces that you are particularly attached to?

STJ: Thank you very much for your kind regard for the artwork. Well, I am pleased with all of them for various reasons, and as you know, the work was generated over the course of just about six years.

Some pieces like the USS Constitution, The Golden Gate Bridge, and The Washington Monument in oil paint on wood panels reflect my interest in capturing a sense of realism while allowing the brush stroke to remain highly visible. These works come from my interest in the paintings of such 19th century American landscape artists as George Inness and James McNeill Whistler whose influence on my work was particularly strong during the late 80s and early 90s.

With regards to the USS Constitution, I had an inspired moment at the easel and painted it in one day. Other pieces, such as Niagara Falls, took months of painting, scraping, and repainting in order to achieve the proper effect.

Many of the works that seem so quickly created were, in reality, the product of numerous earlier versions in similar and different mediums.

Bristlecone Pines is an example of a very loose watercolor and ink on paper. After extensive research into these venerable trees, I must have generated five or six versions before all the marks worked to my satisfaction.

I am also partial to the Vegas pieces for they are playful and fun. I found that the idea of juxtaposing the interesting visual and symbolic motifs of French fries and caviar underscored the concept of the mixture of high and low culture in Las Vegas.

These collages reflect the development of my artwork of the last six years, which has become increasingly abstract. By and large, the artwork in Tour America reflect on my development as an artist over the last twenty years for they encompass realistic paintings of my earlier years, simple and impressionistic works, and my recent interest in collage and abstraction.

CB: Your children's books are much loved by children everywhere. You must receive wonderful letters from small fans.

STJ: Yes, one of my favorites that makes me chuckle every time I think of it was a letter from a young fourth grader several years ago who wrote, and I quote, "my brother and I are obsessed with your art! We have never seen better and we are nine years old!" Over the years, I have received wonderful letters and artwork from children, classes, and schools that I cherish very much. The honest statements of gratitude and the beautiful insights generated by the children are heartwarming and promising.

CB: Do you have any tips for teachers or librarians (or parents) charged with introducing young people to art?

STJ: Above all, I'd encourage children to have fun, explore, try new approaches, go to museums, galleries, art centers and look at real works of art. Encourage them to explore their everyday world with fresh eyes.

DS: Yes, more times than I care to remember. I had a rear tire blow-out on a downhill highway outside of Reno and fell into a ditch. I ran off the road in Nebraska and fell over in a guy's front yard (oops!). My husband and I collided our bikes in Florida (dumb) and I fell over once in a parking lot. And I could go on!

"This stunning tour of America highlights 26 of the poet's favorite sights, which are as varied as the nation itself. Siebert's striking word choices and images reflect the essence of each subject. . . .A double-page map at the beginning of the book alerts readers to the exciting destinations they will experience, and a smaller map and inset box of additional information for each sight increase the educational value. Johnson masterfully varies his medium and art style to reflect the mood of each locale. An impressive "List of Art and Mediums" appears at the end of the book. This distinguished offering blends poetry, geography, art, and history."
—

School Library Journal, starred review

"A colorful portrait of the America landscape that could awaken anyone's travel bug."
—The New York Times

Click here to read the poem, "American Towns," from Tour America.