I've had several careers: In addition to having been a professional librarian for 9 years, an ESL and substitute primary teacher in regular, bilingual and special needs classes, and a children's writer, freelance editor and proofreader, I've also entertained children both as Risa the Musical Clown and the Music Mama both on the east and west coasts. I currently have an organizing and coaching business called "Simply Marvelous Organizing."

   As a professional organizer and coach, I help people set goals and priorities, teach them "hands-on" how to arrange their personal and office space, work on time management and behavior modification, and assist in clearing out the clutter so they can get on with their lives. I also help with downsizing for a move, setting up filing and paper management systems, and work in every area of a house from basement to attic to garage. Another one of my specialties is estate organization: assisting individuals and families in putting their affairs and papers in order both before and after a catastrophic loss such as the death of a loved one.

   As a children's poet and free-lance writer, I specialize in material for the educational, magazine, and trade markets with a focus on language arts and the emergent reader. I also offer editing and proofing services, and funny, customized, illustrated cards for all occasions, either delivered as part of a singing telegram, or mailed out anywhere around the world.

   As "Risa the Musical Clown," I’ve done singing telegrams and entertained all ages at parties, schools, fairs, festivals, and retirement homes. I do a dress-up and marching band with my accordion, recorder, spoons, and rhythm instruments. I also face paint, make balloon animals and hats, do magic, games, and bubbles. 

What influenced you to become a librarian?

   I had just graduated from Boston University with a BA in classics and Education, and not knowing what I wanted to do, I went to Israel that fall to teach ESL on a kibbutz, in a program similar to the Peace Corps.  Upon my return, I found a glowing letter from a friend of mine, with whom I had graduated in the classics department, telling me all about her wonderful new job in a library.  I still had no clear picture about my future, and this letter kept coming into my head, so I moved to Cambridge and began exploring the library field with a job at the Cambridge Public Library.

Do you have a library science degree?    I have a Library Degree from Simmons College in Boston, MA

What kinds of library positions have you held, and where, and how long have you been a librarian?

    I've been a librarian for 9 1/2 years; I've held the following library positions:

Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge, MA :
Assistant Branch Librarian and Assistant Music Librarian

Chelsea Public Library, Chelsea, MA
Head, Children's Department

Burney Elementary School, Burney, CA
Library consultant

Shasta County Public Library, Redding, CA
Library Clerical Assistant

Colorado Mountain College, Glenwood Springs, CO
Night Reference Librarian

New Bedford Free Public Library, New Bedford, MA,
Head of Reference Services

Otay Elementary School, Chula Vista, CA
Substitute School Librarian

Are you currently working as a librarian? No.

Do you plan to continue in the profession?

    I'm uncertain whether I would continue as a paid full-time professional.  I'm not keen on working from 9-5.  It doesn't leave much time for anything else.  I could possibly return to a position where I might do occasional book talks or children's programs as a librarian/writer/clown.  I would definitely want to do something with children. I'm a writer who
entertains.

Why did you leave?

    I left my position as Head of Reference to relocate to a warmer climate, and to be a writer. I thought I might work for the City of San Diego, initially, as a substitute librarian, and took and passed the tests.  The public library system was requiring commitments to weeknights and weekend work and I wanted a change; I had been working nights and weekends already for years.  I remembered how much I loved working with kids as a Children's Librarian in Chelsea so I applied for a library position with an elementary school district within San Diego County.  Thinking that it would involve too much office work, I decided that I wanted to have a different type of connection with children, this time as a teacher.  I had been an ESL teacher in Israel for a year, and had already been substitute teaching for quite some time in Shasta County.

Which came first in your life, your career as a librarian, or writing for children?

    My work as librarian came first, in the Boston area.  My job as Head of the Children's Department at the Chelsea Public Library was the very first professional job out of library school. When I left this job and relocated to the west coast, I did odd jobs in the Bay Area for about a year, then moved up to Lassen County to an Angus Beef cattle ranch in a tiny community called Hat Creek. There I continued doing odd jobs-- respite care, substitute teaching, library consulting, library subbing, until I began a teaching credential through Cal State University, Chico, so I could start a tutoring business.  I actually began writing while I was getting my teaching credential. (more details below)

Did your library work have anything to do with becoming a children's writer?

    No, not on a conscious level, even though I was heavily involved in running a busy Children's Department for the Chelsea Public Library.  I think though, that working with children as a children's librarian did give me an inkling that I really loved working with young kids.  In my career as a librarian I've touched into just about every nook and cranny of a library, and I can honestly say that the work I loved the most was being a children's librarian--every aspect of it, especially the programming and displays that I was in charge of designing.  I had a stamp club, story hour, craft hour, movie time, animal shows; I coordinated exhibits with the local schools, so I was constantly rotating kids' artwork and displays.  I loved the creativity that this work afforded me.

Did your library work directly influence your work as an author?

    Not directly, but again, maybe subconsciously.

    I began writing while studying for my teacher's credential; I was taking a class entitled, "Music for the Non-musician," a one-credit filler class, and we were called upon to do a lot of rhythm and rhyming activities, movement, dramatics, improvisation, using Orff instruments and techniques.  Being a natural dancer and musician (I started flute and piano as a kid, and had added the recorder, saxophone, and violin) the class just seemed to turn me on.  In addition, my Dad had been a wordsmith and avid reader, and was always hammering away at us kids about vocabulary.  This class brought out all the rhythm, rhyme, and movement tucked away in me, and I began expressing myself by writing and illustrating big, silly, rhyming cards for friends who would come to visit.  I was commuting on weekends to my home on the cattle ranch at the
time.  One of the first things I thought about seriously writing was a cookbook as I spent hours cooking, but I never followed through on it.

    MY WORK AS A TEACHER HAS PROBABLY INFLUENCED ME MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, but I would say that my job as Children's Librarian probably planted the seeds.

    I had a year in Israel just after the 6-Day War teaching English as a Second Language.  It wasn't until I received my teaching credential several years later and then actually found myself face to face with children again as a substitute teacher, that I started to move more seriously into my "writing for children."

    The classroom setting more than anything else has been a gold mine (teachers' guides and resources, teaching aids, storybooks, workbooks, big books, posters, displays, artwork, cassettes, records, CD's, school assemblies, class assignments, computer lab, library instruction, story hours, workshops given by resource specialists, everything I've seen and heard and put my hands on during a school day has had and has potential for me as a children's writer).  An assignment in computer lab, "If you had a monster," got me going on a poem called "If I had a Monster."  I listen to children's singers on a morning cassette and am inspired to write a song or poem. A picture of Humpty Dumpty teetering on a stack of white bread once started me off on a zany collection of nursery rhymes.  It's endless.

    Teachers are right in the forefront with the latest educational tools, teaching materials, strategies, techniques, art projects, etc. And of  course, none of this would be possible without the kids themselves, the reason for all of this attention and effort.

For instance, did you respond to children's books in your library collection, or to the lack of books of certain kinds or on certain subjects, or to your interactions with young library patrons and their families?

    At the time that I was a children's librarian, I kept a list of requests, and went shopping several times a month to fill in the collection. I didn't see this as a writing opportunity at the time, but a shopping spree!!!  I did my best to maintain a balanced collection, one that would serve the particularly diverse community I was working in.

    I find that I do now respond to gaps in a library collection, particularly when it comes to poetry.  I often ask teachers and librarians for suggestions on what subject or topic they would like to see added to their collection.

Did incidents from your library work ever make it into your books?

    Not really. I have written silly testimonials to staff members, that's about it.

What were the greatest benefits of being a librarian to you as a writer?

    I have many skills that I owe to the library profession.  I know how a library operates.  I've been introduced to vast amounts of reference materials through the courses I've taken.  I can locate materials more easily; I know that I can call on library staff for professional assistance when I'm stuck, and yes, without a doubt, librarianship has also increased my knowledge of children's literature and everything else under the sun. Furthermore all the material you could possibly want is right at your fingertips in a library.  It's mind-boggling how much information is out there.

    I had a position as school librarian substitute for several months at one of the local elementary schools.  I was responsible for setting up story hours and library programs for both regular and bilingual Spanish classes from grades k-3. This job provided a perfect opportunity to test out some of my writing material at the appropriate grade level, all within the framework of a library lesson.

Were there any drawbacks to being a writer/librarian?

    The only drawback I can see to being a writer/librarian is finding the time to work at one's craft; otherwise one enhances the other.

If you write while working as a librarian (or something else), how do you manage the time juggling act? 

    Finding the time and energy to write has been extremely challenging these last few years. Jane Yolen, prolific children's writer extraordinaire, recently said in a speech to a mid-western writing group, that to be a writer, one either needs to have a rich spouse or rich parents! I'm still looking!

    I began my organizing business a year ago so that I might wind down the teaching and clowning and have more time to write.  I actually think that it's more a question of intent, desire, commitment, and dedication, and not sitting down to write because of something is a partial excuse.  There's always a scrap of time somewhere.  Part of my problem is that I have many interests -- I dance, I play accordion, I'm learning how to play the saw, I garden, I walk, I've signed up for a pottery class.  Finding a balance between work and play is the key somehow.

When do you write?

    Sometimes at 6 in the morning before I go off to teach, at breakfast, at lunch, in the late afternoon, evening, no regular schedule, wherever I can be still for a few minutes. My problem is that I don't have a regular work schedule so each day is different.  I find that I'm really inspired in the early mornings upon waking, and since I love a hot morning bath, I get into the tub with paper and pen handy.  I occasionally take a day off so I can spend more time on the writing.

    I've had an interesting encounter recently with a children's writer with the same time problem, and we've committed to report back to each other on our week's progress each Wednesday night.  I feel that following through on this will be very beneficial for both of us; I think our get-together was no accident, and that it's time to "put the money on the table" or else!

Do you find any conflicts or job-related difficulties in being both a writer and a librarian? (writer-teacher-clown)

   I've been substituting in the local schools here the last 11 years, and all the while writing poems, short stories, and song lyrics; I've been published the last 4 years.  For me, the school arena has been an invaluable resource where I can frequently test out my material. I play my accordion, sing my songs, read my poetry, share my clown skills and encourage children to express themselves the same way.  I've found fellow teachers and administrators to be enthusiastic and encouraging about what I do.  I am very conscious, though, that my primary responsibility, as a substitute teacher, is to follow the teacher's lesson plan, so work first, play later.  I especially like to share my poetry with teachers, and am grateful to be in a situation where I can get such good feedback.

    There aren't many conflicts in the clown arena; I can be as creative as I like but it does call for different strategies.  Parties can get raucous and noisy and I have to shift gears frequently to make things interesting and workable.  Singing and poetry readings are sometimes appropriate, sometimes not.

Risa's published works include:

Children's activities and trivia questions for Compton's NewMedia Forum on America Online, 1996

Eight original poems for the Lightspan Partnership's Project Cyberscribe on CD, 1996

First grade pocket chart poetry and song lyrics on theme of harvest, oceans, and homes for Scholastic Publishing, 1997

"The Sabbath Queen" and "Passover Is," Shofar Magazine, 1998

Additional children's poetry for Boys' Quest, Hopscotch, Nature Friend, Pumbedissa, the NeoVictorian/Cochlea, Clowning Around magazines, Behrman House Publishing, 1996 to present.

"No Clowning Around: Have a Backyard Birthday Carnival Party" in San Diego Family Magazine, July 1999

"Oh, It's Just Around the Corner Y2K" song written and sung with accordion on 91X radio on December 21, 1999 and Jan 1, 2000, on Channel 9, KUSI, San Diego

"Cookie Up a Storm at your Next Birthday Party" in San Diego Family Magazine. July 2000

"It's a Laughing Matter," article in magazine format for the shared reading component of the program, Rigby Literacy Grades Four and Five, August 2000

"Dear God" in Star Light, Star Bright: Bedside Prayers for Children, June Cotner books, October 2002

Work in Progress:

"Field Trip: the Zoo" and "Field Trip: the Aquarium"

    This is a fabulous collection of silly poems about what you might encounter on a field trip to the zoo or the Aquarium/ Seaworld, covering everything from the animals you'd expect to see, modes of transportation, a sick child, the gift shop, and more. This is geared to primary students and the educational market.