David Lord Paterson

While talking last night, Jordan told me that his friend Oona recently bumped into David Lord Paterson at a social gathering and ended up accompanying him to another party in the heart of NYC. DLP is the son of Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terabithia, one of my favorite books of all time -- and one of my greatest inspirations. I remember as a child being blown away by the raw truths that Paterson explores, the themes of death; loss of innocence; the melting away of childhood imagination -- and how we must fight to hold onto that imagination, re-shape it and continually use it as we become adults. DLP helped with the new film adaptation of the book, and from interviews I read while following the making of the film, I was impressed by his efforts to keep the magic and earth-mother qualities of his mother's vision alive. Did I think the film was perfect? No. But did I cry at parts, and was I impressed that it tackled some of those heavy issues unflinchingly? Yes. And you can't beat the story behind the story, how Katherine Paterson's novel is based on her son David's childhood and his friendship with Lisa Hill, whose passing sparked the muse to help Paterson write about young heartbreak and redemption.

Katherine writes in the dedication:
"I wrote this book for my son
David Lord Paterson,
but after he read it
he asked me to put Lisa's name
on this page as well,
and so I do.
For
David Paterson and Lisa Hill,
banzai"

If you haven't read Bridge to Terabithia -- a Newberry Medal winner -- I recommend you take a trip to your local bookstore or library soon, and lose yourself in this world where death and life dance together through the poetic use of Paterson's words.