Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner recalls having a poem published in Highlights
My father was a newspaperman in upstate New York, and we had our own family newspaper, the Quaker Street Quacker. As the youngest of eight kids, I had to fight pretty hard to get a byline. So writing and reading were always a big part of the family.
In fourth grade, for an English assignment, I wrote a poem called "The Opossum." The teacher was Mrs. Petersen. I was very fond of her because she took writing seriously, as did I. The poem was all right, but I had no great aspirations for it. Then, a full two years later, Mrs. Petersen came into my sixth-grade classroom, and asked the teacher (Mrs. Ahola, of whom I was not at all fond) if she could speak to me. I distinctly remember hearing her ask this aloud, and I remember thinking What sin did I commit way back in fourth grade that was so grave that its statute of limitations hasn't run out?
But no, that wasn't it at all: Mrs. Petersen announced to the class that a poem I'd written back in fourth grade had been selected for publication in Highlights magazine. Mrs. Petersen had submitted the poem on her own, she said, without my knowledge or permission, and she hoped I didn't mind. Of course I didn't mind. I will admit that I was surprised it took two whole years to get published. As it turned out, that sixth-grade year was the year my father died, so it kind of stank all around. Getting published in Highlights was certainly the best news of that year. It was particularly sweet because I took up writing almost entirely because my father was a writer.
I have been writing, for better or worse, ever since. Would I have kept writing even if Mrs. Petersen hadn't submitted that poem, even if Highlights had turned us down cold? I'd like to think so, but you never know. It was a big boost, and I've never known a kid who didn't appreciate a boost once in a while.
I am an only child and only grandchild. My grandmother would purchase Highlights for me to keep me entertained. it is lonely being an only child. I loved Highlights, it allowed me to be myself and to use my imagination.