Author: Steven C. Cunningham, M.D,
Illustrator: Valeska M. Populoh
Translator: Myriam Gorosope, Ph.D
ISBN: 978-0-9721241-6-4
Publisher: Three Conditions Press

Click Here To Purchase Dinosaur Name Poems/Poemas De Nombres De Dinosaurios (English and Spanish Edition)


Today, Norm Goldman Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is honored to have as our guest Dr. Steven Clark Cunningham author of Dinosaur Name Poems / Poemas de nombres de dinosaurios .

Dr. Cunningham was born in Denver, Colorado. After graduating from Creighton University with majors in chemistry and Spanish, he attended medical school at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Having finished his residency in general surgery at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, Maryland, he is currently doing a fellowship in surgery of the liver and pancreas at Johns Hopkins University.

He has served as a contributing editor of Maryland Poetry Review, and his poems have appeared in Maryland Poetry Review, The New Physician (winner of literary arts contest), Chimeras, WordHouse: Baltimore’s Literary Calendar, the anthology Function At The Junction #2 (Electric Press, 1997), the cookbook Pasta Poetics (ed. Matt Hohner, 1997), and the anthology Poems for Chromosomes 

Good day Dr. Cunningham and thanks for taking time out from your busy work schedule.

Norm:

What draws you to express yourself through poetry and what drew you to write Dinosaur Name Poems / Poemas de nombres de dinosaurios through poetry? As a follow up, how did you decide you were ready to write the book?

Dr. Cunningham:

The inspiration for the book was my oldest son, Lucas Mario, who by age four had the typical dinosaur infatuation that so many boys and girls get.  But what he really loved about them was the way that all the names mean something relevant about the creatures, like the way that Tyrannosaurus means Tyrant Lizard, and Stegosaurus means Plated Lizard, and his favorite Pachycephalosaurus, means – and I’m sure this is no coincidence! – Thick-Headed Lizard! So it was this enthusiasm, really, for the names of the creatures in addition to the creatures themselves, that inspired this book, Dinosaur Name Poems.  This book is also a natural extension of some of my technical writing on medical nomenclature in the surgical literature.  In both cases I am exploring names, meanings, etymology, language clarity.

Norm:

Why did you decide to write the poems both in English and Spanish?

 Dr. Cunningham:

I wrote the poems in English, and my wife, Myriam Gorospe, who was born and raised in Spain and has worked as a translator of both literary and scientific works, translated the book (both the poems and the glossary) into Spanish.  Translating poetry, even poetry for children, is not easy and I must say that she did a great job, maintaining the rhyme, rhythm, and general feel of each poem.  Having the book in bilingual English / Spanish has many benefits.  First, it dovetails nicely with the whole language/nomenclature theme.  Second, it provides kids and adults alike a fun way to learn another language.  Finally, it is true to the heritage of the books inspiration.

Norm:

When did you become interested in dinosaurs?

Dr. Cunningham:

My son – and I am sure that many fathers have felt this – is incredibly like I remember being at his age.  When I watch him play soccer, build Legos, try to figure out how things work, I see myself.  Similarly, I saw myself in his infatuation for dinosaurs.  There is something that children and adults find very enticing, very intriguing, about dinosaurs:  because they do not exist, but used to, the combination that they entail of the real and the imaginary is a very compelling mix.

Norm:

What do you want your book to do? Amuse? Provoke thinking?

Dr. Cunningham:

Yes, Yes, and Yes.  Of course I want it to move people:  To amuse them, to be thought-provoking, to teach them something that they did not know, to allow them to understand something differently than they used to before reading the book.  What more could one ask for?

Norm:

What was the most difficult part of writing your book?

Dr. Cunningham:

The writing came easy and the revising was fun, because I have always loved writing (part of which is, of course, revising).  The fact that this part of the process came easy helped to convince me that the book was worth its ink.  The difficult part has been to come to grips with the fact that the world may take it’s time embracing this new children’s book from an unknown children’s author.

 Norm:

 How did you find the time to write a children’s book and do a fellowship in surgery at Johns Hopkins University?

 Dr. Cunningham:

 I actually did most of the writing during the research years (2003-2006) of my surgical residency (2001-2009) at the University of Maryland.  Those were very productive years for me, both in terms of scientific and poetic writing.  During that same time, I published several surgical papers on technical nomenclature, a similarity that was not intentional but neither a random occurrence). 

 Norm:

 What do your family, friends and colleagues think of your writing? 
 

Dr. Cunningham:

 My family loves it (they are required to), my friends support it and, I hope, enjoy it, and my colleagues likely vary among supporting, enjoying, loving, and merely tolerating it.

Norm:

Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say? 

Dr. Cunningham:

I have had feedback from many readers, nearly all of which has been positive.  What has really surprised me is the wide range of ages that seem to like it, ranging from as young as 3- to 4-years-olds who seem to love the pictures and the rhyme and rhythm, through 11- to 12-year-olds, who appreciate the more subtle plays on words, to adults, who want to enjoy some light reading or brush up on their Spanish.

Norm:

Would you say you get clarity about a subject from writing a poem about it? If so, please elaborate.

Dr. Cunningham:

Yes, definitely.  Writing is a form of thinking and I find that the process is an active one not only in reproducing thoughts on paper, but in actually changing, developing, elaborating thoughts as they go onto paper (or a screen).

Norm:

Where can our readers find out more about you and Dinosaur Name Poems / Poemas de nombres de dinosaurios?

 Dr. Cunningham:

The book’s website is www.DinosaurNamePoems.org and contains sample poems and illustrations, and biographies of the three of us (author, translator, and illustrator).  The book is widely available for purchase: through that website, through various walk-in stores around the country (there is a list on the website), or online through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Borders.

Norm:

Is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered?

Dr. Cunningham:

This book tackles dinosaurs from A (Allosaurus, or Other Lizard) to V (Velociraptor, or Swift Thief), in a series of contains 30 poems that will encourage in any child love of language carefulness as well as language playfulness.  The richly hued watercolor collages that illustrate the book delight with whimsy of their own and are the work of the talented hands and mind of Valeska Populoh. The glossary of technical terms and prehistoric creatures rounds out the book and is sure to satisfy the inquisitive nature that so many children bring to learning about these beloved creatures.  All the poems, images, and glossary, have been reviewed for scientific accuracy, and approved by the prominent paleontologist, Dr Richard Kissel, Director of Teacher Programs at the Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, NY.

 Thanks again and good luck with Dinosaur Name Poems / Poemas de nombres de dinosaurios

 Click Here To Purchase Dinosaur Name Poems/Poemas De Nombres De Dinosaurios (English and Spanish Edition)

Click Here To Read Norm's Review of Dinosaur Name Poems / Poemas de nombres de dinosaurios