16 Words

16 Words: William Carlos Williams and “The Red Wheelbarrow”
by Lisa Rogers (Author) and Chuck Groenink (Illustrator)

Booktalk: The wheelbarrow belongs to Thaddeus Marshall, a street vendor, who every day goes to work selling vegetables on the streets of Rutherford, New Jersey. That simple action inspires poet and doctor Williams to pick up some of his own tools–a pen and paper–and write his most famous poem.

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Guest Post by Lisa Rogers

Lisa Rogers is an elementary school librarian and a former newspaper reporter and editor. She grew up in New Jersey, not far from where Thaddeus Marshall, the inspiration for William Carlos Williams’ poem “The Red Wheelbarrow,” tended his garden. Lisa lives near Boston with her family and stubborn but lovable hound, who inspired her next picture book, HOUND WON’T GO (Albert Whitman, 2020).

Q. Describe your writing process.
A. Inspiration can come from anywhere, but for me it usually starts with something I read or notice. It’s an aha! moment when I recognize something I think would make a great story. It’s something that surprises me and that I think would delight or intrigue children.

I read everything I can find about my topic, and let the idea sit. I ponder: What is the essence of the story? How to begin?

I start with what intrigued me. Usually the first lines come into my head when I’m resting in some way—either first thing in the morning, or on a walk with my dog, or while I’m running. Once I have those first lines, I know where I want to go. I write, most often in pencil on paper, to get the rhythm and feel of the words. I have scraps of paper with bits of writing all over my house! Sometimes I find these scraps when I’m in the weeds of revision and they remind me of what I really wanted to say. Revisiting that initial thrilling inspiration can reopen the path to the story.

The rest of story is the most challenging part—and exciting—because that’s when I’m shaping and adding dimension. I write carefully, deliberately, and sparingly.

Q. Tell us about your debut book.
A. My debut, 16 Words: William Carlos Williams and “The Red Wheelbarrow”, lovingly illustrated by Chuck Groenink, releases on September 24 from Schwartz & Wade Books.

It’s fitting that as a former newspaper reporter, my curiosity was piqued by an article in The New York Times that identified the owner of a wheelbarrow in Williams’ famous poem.

I was intrigued by the very notion that there was an owner of the wheelbarrow. I don’t know why I never thought of that before…a failure of imagination, perhaps! But it struck me in such a way — Wow! The owner of the wheelbarrow has been identified! — that I literally got the chills and immediately decided this story needed to be written.

But what I would write, I did not know. I thought about the two men—Williams and Thaddeus Marshall, who was a neighbor and patient of the doctor-poet. Their relationship of mutual respect was at the core. Once I let this idea sit, I realized I wanted to explore the intersection of their lives. I thought of using the parallel structure to tell the story of how the poem might have come to be.

Through a great deal of research and interviews with Thaddeus Marshall’s great granddaughter, and a local historian, I was able to depict them going through their everyday lives, up to the pivotal moment where Williams writes his poem.

It’s a tender story, and illustrator Chuck Groenink perfectly captures and amplifies its emotional core with every page turn. His masterful work turned this story into something completely new and beautiful.

I hope that it inspires young writers to observe the small wonders of our world that bring us joy. It might even inspire them to craft their own poems so they can share that joy.

CONGRATULATIONS, Lisa! Thanks for sharing your debut book!

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