PORT HADLOCK — She could be called the grammar girl. But what she really likes to talk about is passion.
Martha Brockenbrough, founder of National Grammar Day (every March 4) and author of five books for various age groups — Finding Bigfoot, Things That Make Us [Sic] and The Dinosaur Tooth Fairy among them — is on her way here for a free program today.
All are invited to join Brockenbrough at 3:45 p.m. at the Jefferson County Library, 620 Cedar Ave., and since seating is limited, attendees are urged to come early.
Her new novel, The Game of Love and Death, will be at the heart of her presentation, but the author will delve, too, into the love of good writing and reading.
“When I talk to kids — every age of kids — I talk about what books did for me and how I became a writer,” she said.
“I didn’t know any writers when I was growing up,” and fortunately books, from novels to nonfiction, were all around.
“We have a very structured school system,” Brockenbrough added.
“But it’s important to have a passion you pursue independently,” wherever you are in your education.
Brockenbrough, who grew up in Bellevue, now lives with her family in Seattle’s Madrona neighborhood, known by residents as the “Peaceable Kingdom.”
As a woman and an author, she cultivates a sense of wonder in herself and others.
Like innumerable readers across the globe, Brockenbrough is a fan of the late E.B. White, author of Charlotte’s Web and other classics.
She quotes him: “All that I hope to say in books, all that I ever hope to say, is that I love the world.”
But what about her fierce interest in grammar? Does our world of Twitter, Facebook and texting drive her nuts?
Not necessarily. There’s an art to crafting short messages, she says. The late Roger Ebert, one of her heroes, was a master of the tweet.
As a novelist, Brockenbrough gleans inspiration from anywhere. The Game of Love and Death draws from her love of Greek mythology, of Picasso’s art and of love stories people have told her.
The Game is about two teenagers, both jazz musicians, in 1930s Seattle.
The boy, Henry, “has a heart built for love,” she said.
He falls for a girl named Flora, and she reciprocates.
What the couple don’t know: They are pawns in a game being played by two forces, Love and Death.
In ’s today’s talk about The Game, Brockenbrough will show vintage pictures of Seattle, play music from the Depression era and present the audience members with small gifts.
Yes, it’s officially a “young adult” book, so it’ll go in the teen section of libraries and bookstores. Yet Brockenbrough doesn’t want grown-ups to feel uninvited.
Young adult titles are not only for teens, she said; they are about what it’s like to be a teen.
“To experience those emotions again is interesting,” and besides, if you think young adult literature is unsophisticated, Brockenbrough urges you to take a look at it. And think again.
“People should read what they love,” she added. This reader certainly does.
“I love stuff unabashedly,” she said.
Brockenbrough does have a teenager and an 11-year-old who protest sometimes: “Oh, Mom, do you have to dance in public?”
“Yes,” she answers, “I do.”
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.