Jarrett J. Krosoczka: How a boy became an artist

Translator: Thu-Huong Ha Reviewer: Morton Bast

Traducător: Doina Zamfirescu Corector: Delia Bogdan

Hello. My name is Jarrett Krosoczka,

Buna ziua! Mă numesc Jarrett Krosoczka,

and I write and illustrate books for children for a living.

scriu şi ilustrez cărţi pentru copii.

So I use my imagination as my full-time job.

Pentru mine imaginaţia e un full-time job.

But well before my imagination was my vocation,

Mult înainte ca imaginaţia să devină o vocaţie,

my imagination saved my life.

imaginația mi-a salvat viaţa.

When I was a kid, I loved to draw,

Când eram copil, adoram să desenez,

and the most talented artist I knew

şi cel mai talentat artist pe care l-am cunoscut

was my mother,

a fost mama mea,

but my mother was addicted to heroin.

însă mama era dependentă de heroină.

And when your parent is a drug addict,

Când părintele e dependent de droguri,

it's kind of like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football,

eşti ca Charlie Brown, mimând că joci fotbal,

because as much as you want to love on that person,

oricât vrei să iubeşti acea persoană,

as much as you want to receive love from that person,

oricât ai vrea să primeşti iubire de la ea,

every time you open your heart, you end up on your back.

de fiecare dată cand îţi deschizi inima, eşti doborât.

So throughout my childhood, my mother was incarcerated

În copilărie, mama a fost închisă

and I didn't have my father because

iar tata - nu i-am ştiut nici numele mic până într-a şasea.

I didn't even learn his first name until I was in the sixth grade.

But I had my grandparents,

Dar i-am avut pe bunicii din partea mamei,

my maternal grandparents Joseph and Shirley,

Joseph şi Shirley,

who adopted me just before my third birthday

care m-au adoptat înainte să împlinesc trei ani

and took me in as their own,

şi m-au crescut ca pe propriul lor copil,

after they had already raised five children.

după ce deja crescuseră alţi cinci.

So two people who grew up in the Great Depression,

Aşa că doi oameni care au crescut în Marea Recesiune,

there in the very, very early '80s took on a new kid.

la începutul anilor '80, au luat în grijă un alt copil.

I was the Cousin Oliver of the sitcom

Eram Vărul Oliver din serialul

of the Krosoczka family,

familiei Krosoczka,

the new kid who came out of nowhere.

copilul nou, apărut de nicăieri.

And I would like to say that life was totally easy with them.

Aş vrea să spun că viaţa a fost mai uşoară cu ei.

They each smoked two packs a day, each, nonfiltered,

Fiecare fuma două pachete de tigări fără filtru

and by the time I was six,

şi la vârsta de 6 ani

I could order a Southern Comfort Manhattan,

puteam comanda Southern Comfort Manhattan,

dry with a twist, rocks on the side,

sec, cu lămâie şi gheaţă separat,

the ice on the side so you could fit more liquor in the drink.

pentru a putea pune mai mult alcool în băutură.

But they loved the hell out of me. They loved me so much.

Dar m-au iubit nespus.

And they supported my creative efforts,

Şi mi-au susţinut eforturile creative,

because my grandfather was a self-made man.

pentru că bunicul s-a ridicat prin propriile sale eforturi.

He ran and worked in a factory.

A condus şi a lucrat într-o fabrică.

My grandmother was a homemaker.

Bunica mea era casnică.

But here was this kid who loved Transformers

Eu eram un copil care iubea Transformers,

and Snoopy and the Ninja Turtles,

Snoopy şi Ninja Turtles

and the characters that I read about, I fell in love with,

şi mă îndrăgosteam de personajele despre care citeam,

and they became my friends.

deveneau prietenii mei.

So my best friends in life were the characters

Cei mai buni prieteni ai mei erau personajele

I read about in books.

despre care citeam în cărţi.

I went to Gates Lane Elementary School in Worcester, Massachusetts,

La şcoala primară Gates Lane în Worcester, Massachusetts

and I had wonderful teachers there,

am avut profesori extraordinari,

most notably in first grade Mrs. Alisch.

mai ales Doamna Alisch din clasa I.

And I just, I can just remember the love that she offered

Îmi aduc aminte, de dragostea pe care

us as her students.

ne-o oferea, nouă, elevilor săi.

When I was in the third grade,

În clasa a III-a

a monumental event happened.

a avut loc un eveniment măreţ.

An author visited our school, Jack Gantos.

Un autor, Jack Gantos, ne-a vizitat şcoala.

A published author of books came to talk to us

Un autor publicat a venit să ne vorbească

about what he did for a living.

despre ce făcea pentru a-şi câstiga existenţa.

And afterwards, we all went back to our classrooms

Apoi, ne-am întors cu toţii în clase

and we drew our own renditions of his main character,

şi am desenat în versiunea noastră personajul principal,

Rotten Ralph.

Rotten Ralph.

And suddenly the author appeared in our doorway,

Autorul a intrat brusc în clasă,

and I remember him sort of sauntering down the aisles,

şi îmi amintesc cum se plimba printre bănci,

going from kid to kid looking at the desks, not saying a word.

privind tăcut desenul fiecărui copil.

But he stopped next to my desk,

În dreptul meu s-a oprit,

and he tapped on my desk, and he said,

a bătut în bancă şi a spus,

"Nice cat." (Laughter)

„Drăguţă pisică." (Râsete)

And he wandered away.

Şi a plecat.

Two words that made a colossal difference in my life.

Două cuvinte care au însemnat enorm pentru mine.

When I was in the third grade, I wrote a book for the first time,

În clasa a III- a am scris prima carte,

"The Owl Who Thought He Was The Best Flyer." (Laughter)

„Bufniţa care se credea cea mai pricepută zburătoare." (Râsete)

We had to write our own Greek myth,

A trebuit să scriem propriul mit grecesc,

our own creation story, so I wrote a story about an owl

propria poveste, aşa că am scris despre o bufniţă

who challenged Hermes to a flying race,

care l-a provocat pe Hermes la o întrecere în zbor,

and the owl cheated,

şi bufniţa a trişat,

and Hermes, being a Greek god, grew angry and bitter,

iar Hermes - zeul grec, s-a înfuriat,

and turned the owl into a moon,

şi a transformat-o într-o lună,

so the owl had to live the rest of his life as a moon

iar ea şi-a petrecut restul vieţii

while he watched his family and friends play at night.

privind cum familia şi prietenii se jucau noaptea.

Yeah. (Laughter)

Da. (Râsete)

My book had a title page.

Cartea mea a avut o pagină pentru titlu.

I was clearly worried about my intellectual property when I was eight.

La 8 ani eram clar ingrijorat pentru proprietatea mea intelectuală.

(Laughter)

(Râsete)

And it was a story that was told with words and pictures,

Iar povestea era spusă cu cuvinte și imagini,

exactly what I do now for a living,

exact aşa cum fac astăzi în munca mea,

and I sometimes let the words have the stage on their own,

şi câteodată las cuvintele să iasă singure,

and sometimes I allowed the pictures to work on their own

alteori îngădui imaginilor să lucreze de la sine

to tell the story.

pentru a spune povestea.

My favorite page is the "About the author" page.

Pagina mea favorită este cea „Despre autor".

(Laughter)

(Răsete)

So I learned to write about myself in third person

Am învăţat să scriu despre mine la persoana a III-a

at a young age.

de când eram mic.

So I love that last sentence: "He liked making this book."

Îmi place ultima propoziţie: „I-a plăcut să scrie această carte."

And I liked making that book because I loved using my imagination,

Mi-a plăcut să fac cartea pentru că îmi plăcea să-mi folosesc imaginaţia,

and that's what writing is.

şi asta înseamnă scrisul.

Writing is using your imagination on paper,

Să scrii înseamnă să-ţi pui imaginaţia pe hârtie,

and I do get so scared because I travel to so many schools now

iar acum sunt îngrozit că merg prin şcoli

and that seems like such a foreign concept to kids,

şi văd copii care nu ştiu că scrisul

that writing would be using your imagination on paper,

înseamnă să-ţi pui imaginaţia pe hârtie,

if they're allowed to even write now within the school hours.

chiar când pot să scrie în orele de curs.

So I loved writing so much that I'd come home from school,

Îmi plăcea atât de mult să scriu, încăt veneam de la şcoală

and I would take out pieces of paper,

şi luam bucăţi de hârtie,

and I would staple them together,

pe care le capsam,

and I would fill those blank pages with words and pictures

şi le umpleam cu cuvinte şi imagini

just because I loved using my imagination.

doar pentru că îmi placea să-mi folosesc imaginaţia.

And so these characters would become my friends.

Aşa au devenit aceste personaje prietenii mei.

There was an egg, a tomato, a head of lettuce and a pumpkin,

A fost odată un ou, o roșie, o salată şi un dovleac

and they all lived in this refrigerator city,

care trăiau în oraşul frigider,

and in one of their adventures they went to a haunted house

şi într-una din aventurile lor au mers la o casă bântuită

that was filled with so many dangers

care era plină de primejdii

like an evil blender who tried to chop them up,

cum ar fi un blender rău care voia să le taie,

an evil toaster who tried to kidnap the bread couple,

un prăjitor care voia să răpească feliile de pâine,

and an evil microwave who tried to melt their friend

şi un cuptor cu microunde care voia să le topească prietenul,

who was a stick of butter. (Laughter)

bucata de unt. (Râsete)

And I'd make my own comics too,

Îmi fac propriile benzi desenate,

and this was another way for me to tell stories,

alt mod prin care spun poveşti,

through words and through pictures.

prin cuvinte şi imagini.

Now when I was in sixth grade,

Când eram în clasa a VI-a,

the public funding all but eliminated the arts budgets

bugetul artelor nu a mai fost finanţat

in the Worcester public school system.

în sistemul de şcoli publice.

I went from having art once a week

Am început să avem materia săptămânal,

to twice a month

apoi de două ori pe lună,

to once a month to not at all.

o dată pe lună şi apoi deloc.

And my grandfather, he was a wise man,

Iar bunicul, care era înţelept,

and he saw that as a problem, because he knew

şi-a dat seama, pentru că ştia

that was, like, the one thing I had. I didn't play sports.

că era ce îmi doream. Nu-mi plăcea sa fac sport.

I had art.

Aveam arta.

So he walked into my room one evening,

Într-o seară a intrat în camera mea,

and he sat on the edge of my bed,

s-a aşezat pe marginea patului,

and he said, "Jarrett, it's up to you, but if you'd like to,

şi a spus, „Jarrett, dacă vrei te trimitem la

we'd like to send you to the classes at the Worcester Art Museum."

la cursurile de la Muzeul de Artă Worcester."

And I was so thrilled.

Am fost încântat.

So from sixth through 12th grade,

Deci din clasa a VI-a până în a XII-a,

once, twice, sometimes three times a week,

o dată, de două, câteodată de trei ori pe săptămână,

I would take classes at the art museum,

mergeam la cursuri la muzeul de artă,

and I was surrounded by other kids who loved to draw,

şi eram înconjurat de copii care iubeau să deseneze,

other kids who shared a similar passion.

copii cu aceeaşi pasiune.

Now my publishing career began when I designed the cover

Cariera a început când am proiectat coperta

for my eighth grade yearbook,

cărţii mele din clasa a VIII-a,

and if you're wondering about the style of dress I put our mascot in,

şi am reprezentat mascota,

I was really into Bell Biv DeVoe and MC Hammer

în stilul Bell Biv DeVoe şi MC Hammer

and Vanilla Ice at the time. (Laughter)

şi Vanilla Ice. (Râsete)

And to this day, I still can do karaoke to "Ice, Ice Baby"

Pot face şi astăzi karaoke la „Ice, Ice, Baby."

without looking at the screen.

fără să mă uit la ecran.

Don't tempt me, because I will do it.

Nu mă provocaţi!

So I get shipped off to private school,

Am fost trimis la o şcoală privată,

K through eight, public schools, but for some reason

erau opt astfel de şcoli publice,

my grandfather was upset that somebody

dar bunicul a fost supărat că cineva

at the local high school had been stabbed and killed,

de la şcoala locală a fost ucis,

so he didn't want me to go there.

aşa că nu a vrut să merg acolo.

He wanted me to go to a private school, and he gave me an option.

A vrut să merg la o şcoală privată şi mi-a dat de ales.

You can go to Holy Name, which is coed,

Poţi merge la Holy Name, care e mixtă,

or St. John's, which is all boys.

sau St.John care-i doar pentru băieţi.

Very wise man, because he knew I would,

Înţelept om pentru ca ştia că mă simţeam

I felt like I was making the decision on my own,

ca şi cum luam eu decizia,

and he knew I wouldn't choose St. John's,

şi ştia că nu voi alege St.John,

so I went to Holy Name High School,

aşa că m-am dus la Holy Name High School,

which was a tough transition because, like I said,

o tranziţie grea, pentru că

nu îmi plăcea sportul,

I didn't play sports,

and it was very focused on sports,

iar acolo se punea accent pe sport,

but I took solace in Mr. Shilale's art room.

dar m-am consolat în clasa de artă a D-lui Shilale.

And I just flourished here.

Acolo am înflorit.

I just couldn't wait to get to that classroom every day.

Abia aşteptam să ajung în clasă.

So how did I make friends?

Cum mi-am făcut prieteni?

I drew funny pictures of my teachers -- (Laughter) --

Desenam imagini amuzante ale profesorilor. (Răsete)

and I passed them around.

Și le circulam prin clasă.

Well, in English class, in ninth grade,

La ora de engleză într-a IX-a,

my friend John, who was sitting next to me,

prietenul meu John, care stătea lângă mine,

laughed a little bit too hard.

a râs un pic prea tare.

Mr. Greenwood was not pleased.

D-l Greenwood s-a supărat.

(Laughter)

(Râsete)

He instantly saw that I was the cause of the commotion,

A ştiut că eu eram motivul agitaţiei,

and for the first time in my life, I was sent to the hall,

şi pentru prima dată am fost dat afară din clasă,

and I thought, "Oh no, I'm doomed.

gândindu-mă „Sunt terminat.

My grandfather's just going to kill me."

Bunicul o să mă omoare."

And he came out to the hallway and he said,

A ieşit pe hol şi mi-a spus,

"Let me see the paper."

„Să văd hârtia."

And I thought, "Oh no. He thinks it's a note."

M-am gândit, „Of, crede că-i o fiţuică."

And so I took this picture, and I handed it to him.

Am luat imaginea şi i-am dat-o.

And we sat in silence for that brief moment,

Un timp am tăcut amândoi,

and he said to me,

iar el a spus,

"You're really talented." (Laughter)

„Eşti talentat." (Râsete)

"You're really good. You know, the school newspaper

„Eşti chiar bun. Ziarul şcolii are nevoie

needs a new cartoonist, and you should be the cartoonist.

de un caricaturist şi tu ar trebui să fii acela.

Just stop drawing in my class."

Dar nu mai desena la ora mea."

So my parents never found out about it.

Părinţii mei n-au aflat niciodată de asta.

I didn't get in trouble. I was introduced to Mrs. Casey,

Am fost prezentat D-nei Casey,

who ran the school newspaper,

care conducea ziarul,

and I was for three and a half years

şi trei ani jumate

the cartoonist for my school paper,

am fost caricaturistul ziarului şcolii,

handling such heavy issues as,

unde m-am confruntat cu probleme dificile ca,

seniors are mean,

cei mari sunt răi,

freshmen are nerds,

bobocii sunt tocilari,

the prom bill is so expensive. I can't believe how much it costs to go to the prom.

balul e scump. Incredibil de scump.

And I took the headmaster to task

M-am legat şi de director,

and then I also wrote an ongoing story about a boy named Wesley

şi am scris un serial despre un băiat numit Wesley

who was unlucky in love, and I just swore up and down

care n-avea noroc în dragoste

şi a trebuit să jur că nu era vorba despre mine,

that this wasn't about me,

but all these years later it was totally me.

dar aşa era.

But it was so cool because I could write these stories,

Era atât de tare să pot scrie acele poveşti,

I could come up with these ideas,

să pot prezenta acele idei,

and they'd be published in the school paper,

care să fie publicate în ziarul şcolii,

and people who I didn't know could read them.

iar oameni necunoscuţi să le citească.

And I loved that thought, of being able to share my ideas

Îmi plăcea că-mi pot împărtăşi ideile tipărite.

through the printed page.

On my 14th birthday, my grandfather and my grandmother

La 14 ani, bunicii mei

gave me the best birthday present ever:

mi-au făcut cel mai dorit cadou:

a drafting table that I have worked on ever since.

o masă de desen la care lucrez de atunci.

Here I am, 20 years later,

După 20 de ani, lucrez zilnic la aceeaşi masă.

and I still work on this table every day.

În seara aniversării mele de 14 ani,

On the evening of my 14th birthday,

I was given this table, and we had Chinese food.

am primit acest cadou şi am avut mâncare chinezească.

And this was my fortune:

Iar răvaşul meu spunea:

„Vei avea succes în munca ta."

"You will be successful in your work."

I taped it to the top left hand of my table,

L-am lipit în stânga-sus de masa de desen,

and as you can see, it's still there.

unde e şi astăzi.

Now I never really asked my grandparents for anything.

Nu am cerut nimic bunicilor,

Well, two things: Rusty, who was a great hamster

în afară de două lucruri: pe Rusty, un hamster

and lived a great long life when I was in fourth grade.

care a trăit până cand eram în clasa a IV-a.

(Laughter)

(Râsete)

And a video camera.

Şi o cameră video.

I just wanted a video camera.

Voiam să am una.

And after begging and pleading for Christmas,

Şi după ce m-am tot milogit, de Crăciun,

I got a second-hand video camera,

am primit una la mâna a doua

and I instantly started making my own animations

şi am început să fac propria animaţie

on my own,

de unul singur,

and all throughout high school I made my own animations.

şi am continuat pe parcursul şcolii.

I convinced my 10th grade English teacher to allow me

Am convins-o pe profa de engleză dintr-a X-a

to do my book report on Stephen King's "Misery"

să mă lase să-mi fac rezumatul la cartea lui Stephen King

as an animated short. (Laughter)

ca o scurtă animaţie. (Râsete)

And I kept making comics.

Şi am continuat să fac benzi desenate.

I kept making comics, and at the Worcester Art Museum,

Iar la Muzeul de Artă Worcester,

I was given the greatest piece of advice by any educator I was ever given.

un educator mi-a dat cel mai preţios sfat.

Mark Lynch, he's an amazing teacher

Mark Lynch, un minunat profesor

and he's still a dear friend of mine,

care îmi este încă prieten drag,

and I was 14 or 15,

iar când aveam 14 sau 15 ani

and I walked into his comic book class halfway through the course,

şi am intrat în clasa lui la jumătatea orei

and I was so excited, I was beaming.

eram atat de emoţionat, încât radiam.

I had this book that was how to draw comics in the Marvel way,

Aveam cartea cu tehnica Marvel pentru benzi desenate

and it taught me how to draw superheroes,

care mă învăţa cum să desenez eroii,

how to draw a woman, how to draw muscles

o femeie, muşchii

just the way they were supposed to be

în mod corect

if I were to ever draw for X-Men or Spiderman.

dacă aş fi vrut să desenez pe X-Men sau Spiderman.

And all the color just drained from his face,

Iar el s-a schimbat la faţă

and he looked at me, and he said,

m-a privit şi mi-a spus,

"Forget everything you learned."

„Uită tot ce ştii."

And I didn't understand. He said, "You have a great style.

Nu înţelegeam. A spus, „Ai un stil propriu.

Celebrate your own style. Don't draw the way you're being told to draw.

Bucură-te. Ieşi din tipar.

Draw the way you're drawing and keep at it,

Desenează cum ştii,

because you're really good."

pentru că eşti cu adevărat bun."

Now when I was a teenager, I was angsty as any teenager was,

În adolescenţă, am fost şi eu furios,

but after 17 years of having a mother

pentru că mama timp de 17 ani

who was in and out of my life like a yo-yo

intra şi ieşea din viaţa mea ca un yo-yo,

and a father who was faceless, I was angry.

iar tatăl nu avea chip, am fost furios.

And when I was 17, I met my father for the first time,

Iar la 17 ani, l-am cunoscut pe tata,

upon which I learned I had a brother and sister I had never known about.

şi am aflat ca am un frate şi o soră de care nu ştiam.

And on the day I met my father for the first time,

Iar în ziua când l-a întâlnit prima dată,

I was rejected from the Rhode Island School of Design,

am fost respins de Şcoala de Design din Rhode Island,

my one and only choice for college.

singura mea alegere pentru colegiu.

But it was around this time I went to Camp Sunshine

În acelaşi timp însă am fost în Tabăra Sunshine

to volunteer a week and working with the most amazing kids,

ca voluntar şi am lucrat cu nişte copii minunaţi,

kids with leukemia, and this kid Eric changed my life.

cu leucemie, iar Eric mi-a schimbat viaţa.

Eric didn't live to see his sixth birthday,

Eric n-a apucat a şasea aniversare,

and Eric lives with me every day.

dar îi păstrez vie amintirea.

So after this experience, my art teacher, Mr. Shilale,

După această experienţă, profesorul meu D-l Shilale,

he brought in these picture books,

mi-a adus aceste cărţi de desen,

and I thought, "Picture books for kids!"

şi m-am gândit, „Cărţi de desen pentru copii!"

and I started writing books for young readers

şi am început să scriu cărţi pentru copii

when I was a senior in high school.

pe când eram la liceu.

Well, I eventually got to the Rhode Island School of Design.

Până la urmă am intrat la Şcoala de Design din Rhode Island.(RISD)

I transferred to RISD as a sophomore,

M-am transferat la RISD în anul II de studenţie

and it was there that I took every course that I could on writing,

şi acolo am urmat toate cursurile de scris.

and it was there that I wrote a story about a giant orange slug

Am scris o poveste despre un melc gigantic portocaliu

who wanted to be friends with this kid.

care voia să fie prieten cu un copil.

The kid had no patience for him.

Care nu avea răbdare cu el.

And I sent this book out to a dozen publishers

Am trimis această carte la 12 edituri

and it was rejected every single time,

şi am fost respins de fiecare dată,

but I was also involved with the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp,

dar eram implicat şi în Tabăra Hole in The Wall Gang

an amazing camp for kids with all sorts of critical illnesses,

o minunată tabără pentru copii cu diferite afecţiuni

and it's those kids at the camp that read my stories,

şi acei copii mi-au citit poveştile,

and I read to them, and I saw that they responded to my work.

le-am citit şi eu lor şi le-am văzut reacţia.

I graduated from RISD. My grandparents were very proud,

Am absolvit RISD. Bunicii erau foarte mândri,

and I moved to Boston, and I set up shop.

m-am mutat la Boston şi am deschis o afacere.

I set up a studio and I tried to get published.

Am înfiinţat un studio şi am încercat să fiu publicat.

I would send out my books. I would send out hundreds of postcards

Am trimis cărţile. Am trimis sute de vederi

to editors and art directors,

editorilor şi directorilor,

but they would go unanswered.

dar nu am primit răspuns.

And my grandfather would call me every week,

Iar bunicul mă suna săptămânal:

and he would say, "Jarrett, how's it going? Do you have a job yet?"

„Cum merge Jarrett? Ai un job?"

Because he had just invested a significant amount of money

Pentru că investise o grămadă de bani

in my college education.

în educaţia mea.

And I said, "Yes, I have a job. I write and illustrate children's books."

„Da. Scriu și ilustrez cărţi pentru copii."

And he said, "Well, who pays you for that?"

„Bine şi cine te plăteşte pentru asta?"

And I said, "No one, no one, no one just yet.

Eu spuneam, „Încă nimeni.

But I know it's going to happen."

Dar ştiu că se va întâmpla."

Now, I used to work the weekends at the Hole in the Wall off-season programming

Lucram în weekend la Hole în afara sezonului

to make some extra money as I was trying to get my feet off the ground,

să fac rost de bani ca să mă stabilizez un pic,

and this kid who was just this really hyper kid,

unde era acest băiat, un hiper copil,

I started calling him "Monkey Boy,"

pe care am început să-l numesc „Monkey Boy".

and I went home and wrote a book called "Good Night, Monkey Boy."

Am scris o carte „Noapte bună Monkey Boy."

And I sent out one last batch of postcards.

Şi am trimis încă un rând de vederi.

And I received an email from an editor at Random House

Am primit un mail de la un editor de la Random House

with a subject line, "Nice work!" Exclamation point.

cu subiectul: „Bună treabă!"

"Dear Jarrett, I received your postcard.

„Dragă Jarrett, am primit vederea ta.

I liked your art, so I went to your website

Îmi place ce faci, aşa că ţi-am vizitat site-ul

and I'm wondering if you ever tried writing any of your own stories,

şi mă întreb dacă ai încercat să scrii poveşti,

because I really like your art and it looks like there are some stories that go with them.

pentru că îmi place arta ta şi s-ar potirvi cu nişte poveşti.

Please let me know if you're ever in New York City."

Anunţă-mă dacă ajungi prin New York."

And this was from an editor at Random House Children's Books.

Era de la un editor de la Random House.

So the next week I "happened" to be in New York.

În weekend-ul următor eram acolo „din întâmplare".

(Laughter)

(Râsete)

M-am întâlnit cu acel editor,

And I met with this editor,

and I left New York for a contract for my first book,

şi am plecat cu un contract pentru prima carte:

"Good Night, Monkey Boy,"

„Noapte bună Monkey Boy",

which was published on June 12, 2001.

care a fost publicată pe 12 Iunie 2001.

And my local paper celebrated the news.

Iar ziarul meu local a sărbătorit asta.

The local bookstore made a big deal of it.

Magazinul local a organizat un mare eveniment.

They sold out of all of their books.

Şi-au vândut toate cărţile.

My friend described it as a wake, but happy,

Prietenul meu spunea că e ca un priveghi fericit

because everyone I ever knew was there in line to see me,

pentru că toţi voiau să mă vadă,

but I wasn't dead. I was just signing books.

dar eu eram în viaţă. Le semnam cărţile.

My grandparents, they were in the middle of it.

Bunicii mei, erau în mijlocul evenimentului,

They were so happy. They couldn't have been more proud.

atât de fericiţi, mândri peste măsură.

Mrs. Alisch was there. Mr. Shilale was there. Mrs. Casey was there.

D-na Alish, D-l Shilale, D-na Casey, erau acolo.

Mrs. Alisch cut in front of the line and said,

D-na Alish a înaintat şi a spus,

"I taught him how to read." (Laughter)

„Eu l-am învăţat să citească." (Râsete)

And then something happened that changed my life.

Apoi ceva mi-a schimbat viaţa.

I got my first piece of significant fan mail,

Am primit primul mail de la un fan,

where this kid loved Monkey Boy so much

căruia îi plăcea foarte mult Monkey Boy

that he wanted to have a Monkey Boy birthday cake.

încât voia un tort cu el.

For a two-year-old, that is like a tattoo. (Laughter)

Pentru un copil de 2 ani, asta e ca un tatuaj. (Râsete)

You know? You only get one birthday per year.

Pentru că aniversarea este o dată pe an.

And for him, it's only his second.

Iar pentru el era a doua.

And I got this picture, and I thought,

Am luat imaginea şi m-am gândit,

"This picture is going to live within his consciousness

„Imaginea asta va rămâne în mintea lui

for his entire life. He will forever have this photo

toată viaţa. Va avea această fotografie

in his family photo albums."

în albumul familiei sale."

So that photo, since that moment,

De atunci, acea fotografie e înrămată

is framed in front of me while I've worked on all of my books.

şi am avut-o în faţă cât timp mi-am scris toate cărţile.

I have 10 picture books out.

Am 10 cărţi ilustrate:

"Punk Farm," "Baghead," "Ollie the Purple Elephant."

„Ferma Punk", „Baghead", „Ollie Elefantul Violet."

I just finished the ninth book

Am terminat a 9-a carte

in the "Lunch Lady" series, which is a graphic novel series

din seria „Lunch Lady" o serie de nuvele grafice

about a lunch lady who fights crime.

despre o doamnă care luptă împotriva fărădelegilor.

I'm expecting the release of a chapter book

Aştept vernisajul unei cărţi cu capitole –

called "Platypus Police Squad: The Frog Who Croaked."

„Platypus Police Squad: The Frog Who Croaked."

And I travel the country visiting countless schools,

Călătoresc prin ţară şi vizitez şcoli,

letting lots of kids know that they draw great cats.

spunând copiilor că desenează pisici minunate.

And I meet Bagheads.

I-am întâlnit pe Bagheads.

Lunch ladies treat me really well.

Lunch ladies mă tratează foarte bine.

And I got to see my name in lights

Şi mi-am văzut numele în lumină

because kids put my name in lights.

pentru că aşa fac copiii.

Twice now, the "Lunch Lady" series has won

De două ori, seria „Lunch Lady" a câştigat

the Children's Choice Book of the Year in the third or fourth grade category,

Cartea anului pentru Copiii la categoria claselor III-IV,

and those winners were displayed

şi câştigătorii au fost afişaţi

on a jumbotron screen in Times Square.

pe un ecran în Times Square.

"Punk Farm" and "Lunch Lady" are in development to be movies,

„Punk Farm" şi „Lunch Lady" vor deveni filme,

so I am a movie producer

aşa că sunt producător de film

and I really do think, thanks to that video camera

şi cred că datorită acelei camere video

I was given in ninth grade.

primită în clasa a IX-a.

I've seen people have "Punk Farm" birthday parties,

Oamenii organizează onomastici „Punk Farm"

people have dressed up as "Punk Farm" for Halloween,

se îmbracă aşa de Halloween,

a "Punk Farm" baby room,

fac o cameră „Punk Farm" pentru copil,

which makes me a little nervous for the child's well-being in the long term.

dar pe termen lung mă îngrijorează pentru acel copil.

And I get the most amazing fan mail,

Am primit cel mai minunat mail de la fani,

and I get the most amazing projects,

am participat la cele mai minunate proiecte,

and the biggest moment for me came last Halloween.

iar cel mai mare moment a fost Halloween-ul trecut.

The doorbell rang and it was a trick-or-treater

A sunat cineva costumat ca personajul meu.

dressed as my character. It was so cool.

A fost tare.

Now my grandparents are no longer living,

Bunicii mei nu mai trăiesc,

so to honor them, I started a scholarship at the Worcester Art Museum

dar în cinstea lor am înfiinţat o bursă la Muzeul Worcester

for kids who are in difficult situations

pentru copiii aflaţi în situaţii dificile

but whose caretakers can't afford the classes.

şi care nu îşi permit cursurile.

And it displayed the work from my first 10 years of publishing,

Am prezentat primii 10 ani de carieră

and you know who was there to celebrate? Mrs. Alisch.

şi ştiţi cine a fost acolo? D-na Alish.

I said, "Mrs. Alisch, how are you?"

Am întrebat-o: „Ce mai faceţi D-nă Alish?"

And she responded with, "I'm here." (Laughter)

Iar ea mi-a răspuns, „Sunt aici." (Râsete)

That's true. You are alive, and that's pretty good right now.

Adevărat. Trăiţi şi asta-i foarte bine.

So the biggest moment for me, though,

Cel mai important pentru mine acum,

my most important job now is I am a dad myself,

cel mai interesant job e cel de a tată,

and I have two beautiful daughters,

am două fete minunate,

and my goal is to surround them by inspiration,

iar scopul meu este să le înconjur cu inspiraţie,

by the books that are in every single room of our house

prin cărţile care se află în fiecare cameră din casă

to the murals I painted in their rooms

şi prin picturile făcute de mine în camerele lor

to the moments for creativity where you find, in quiet times,

până la momentele de creativitate în care ne relaxăm

by making faces on the patio

desenând feţe pe terasă

to letting her sit in the very desk

lăsându-le să stea la biroul

that I've sat in for the past 20 years.

la care am stat în ultimii 20 de ani.

Thank you. (Applause)

Mulţumesc. (Aplauze)