Karin Seager Cockram

The Fredonia Shakespeare Club recently met at Judi Lutz Woods’ home hosted by Beckie Ross with President Sharon Klug presiding. After a short business meeting, Karin Seager Cockram presented her paper on Madeline L’Engle.

Madeleine L’Engle Camp was born in New York City on Nov. 29, 1918. She was the only child of artistic, socialite parents who loved their daughter but didn’t always have a way to fit a child into their lifestyle. Madeleine spent a significant amount of time with her joyful, God-loving housekeeper, Mrs. O. Madeleine’s parents saw to her academic and cultural education, including immersion in the arts; Mrs. O saw to Madeleine’s emotional and spiritual upbringing.

Madeleine wrote her first story at age 5 and started keeping a journal at the age of 8. Her experiences at boarding schools in different countries gave her an appreciation for different people and ways of thinking, as well as the ability to write in all sorts of circumstances, including less than ideal ones. She developed a love of theater and spent time in New York City after her graduation from Smith College. She met her husband, Hugh Franklin, on stage, wrote backstage, and said that theater helped her to improve her writing skills by exposing her to words, words, and more words!

Hugh and Madeleine raised three children, operated a small general store, and kept pursuing their artistic passions

Madeleine’s most well-known book, “A Wrinkle in Time,” was written 1961. After more than 30 rejections from publishers (mostly because her book couldn’t be categorized easily), John Farrar happily accepted it in 1962. A year later, it won the John Newbery Medal.

During her life, Madeleine had more than 60 books published. They crossed literary styles, often resulting in questions about exactly how to categorize her writings. Madeleine herself said, “I am not a children’s writer. I’m not a Christian writer. I resist and reject that kind of classification. I’m a writer period. People underestimate children. They think you have to write differently. You don’t. You just have to tell a story.” She earned 17 honorary doctorates, a National Book Award, the National Humanities Medal, and many other honors. Her individual book awards included 2 John Newbery Medals and 2 National Book Awards for Children’s Books.

Madeleine L’Engle died on September 6, 2007. A quote that seems to sum up her understanding of her life is, “I had to write. I had no choice in the matter. It was not up to me to say I would stop because I could not. It didn’t matter how small or inadequate my talent. If I never had another book published, and it was very clear to me that this was a real possibility, I still had to go on writing.”