We’re so excited to have the lovely and talented Kyran Pittman joining us to try on her tiara today!
Kyran Pittman is a Contributing Writer for Good Housekeeping. Originally from the island of Newfoundland, she now lives in Arkansas with her husband, Patrick, and their three sons. Her memoir, Planting Dandelions: Field Notes from a Semi-Domesticated Life, is available now from Riverhead Books.
Kyran Pittman Takes the Deb Interview
Talk about one book that made an impact on you.
So many; but since my book is a memoir of family life, I’ll go with Jean Kerr’s wonderful Please Don’t Eat the Daisies. I read it for the first time when I was ten or twelve, having probably pilfered it from one of my grandmothers’ shelves on a rainy summer day. Kerr was funny, smart and cultured, and she wrote about domesticity with a voice that was both wonderfully wry and tender. As if the joke was on her, to be raising four kids in post-war suburbia. She managed to be both subversive and immersive.
Who is one of your favorite (fictional or non-fictional) characters?
I have a soft spot for poor old Newland Archer, from the Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton. He’s someone who’s caught between a deep regard for convention and the yearning to break out. Every time I read that book, I’m rooting for him to follow his bliss with the Countess Olenska. Yet I totally understand the gravitational force of tradition, society, and security. I suppose his appeal is part scheudenfraude: there but for grace, I go.
Talk about one thing that’s making you happy right now.
People have started reporting to me whenever dandelions pop up in their yards, as if I planted them there. I’m feeling pretty clever to have picked a book marketing strategy that’s self-seeding.
Where do you love to be?
Believe it or not, in the car with my husband and our children. I love the close quarters; the sense of being castaways on our own private island. A few years ago, we drove from Arkansas to Newfoundland–seven days each way. To some, I’m sure a solid week in a minivan with three kids sounds like the seventh circle of hell. But I was in heaven.
Which talent do you wish you had?
I wish I could play an instrument. Musicians were frequent guests in my childhood home in Newfoundland. I spent many nights sitting at the top of the stairs past bedtime, listening to the music of a fiddle or tin whistle. I would love to recreate that experience for my own children, but I have no patience for the repetition of practice.
For more quality time with Kyran, visit her website, her blog, Facebook, or Twitter!
Planting Dandelions is a memoir about a free spirit putting down roots. Spanning twelve years in eighteen linked essays, Pittman writes passionately and honestly about what it means to belong to a family, and still remain true to one’s self. With equal measures of humor and soul, Planting Dandelions celebrates the richness of so-called ordinary life, from the absurd moments to the profound.
Deb Eleanor and Kyran did a panel together at the Arkansas Literary Festival, so we can vouch that both Kyran and her memoir are wonderful – if you’d like to win a copy (US & Canada), leave a comment here!
Welcome! Of course the dandelion is often the first floral gift a little boy (or girl) gives his Mom. I like Dandelions as cheerful reminders that something doesn’t have to be perfect to be a gift and that we do not control everything in life. Things just “pop up!” Some people complain about them, others make dandelion salad, and my favorite author (Ray Bradbury) made Dandelion Wine. I’m eager to read your book. Thanks for taking a spin on the dance floor at The Ball. Deb Kim
I love dandelions! They’re pretty, edible, and fun to…um, play with. (I was going to say “blow,” but was overwhelmed by an uncharacteristic bout of propriety, so I didn’t. Though I suppose “play with” might not be much better. Oh, bother. You know what I mean.) They’re also persistent, a quality I admire greatly.
Sounds like a great book! ๐
I remember bring a bouquet of roses to my grade school teachers. But one day there were none to bring so I brought a fist full of dandelions to my first teacher. She thanked me, put them in a glass jar and put them at the end of the long row of bouquets. My grandmother used to make danelion tea!
Would love to read this book! Ordinary life is rich!
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
This sounds like a beautiful story that I would love to win! Thanks for the chance!
nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net
This book sounds absolutely beautiful! I can’t wait to read it.
I’m also feeling a whole lot less motivated to go yank up all those dandelions in my yard ๐
Tawna
I saw the great review in People Magazine today and think the book will be an interesting read!
thanks for the opportunity to rea this wonderful story ๐
I haven’t read Age of Innocence in years – I should re-read. Thanks for stopping by, Kyran, and huge congratulations!
Okay, I have to enter/comment because not only does the book sounds good, but I also have some family roots in Newfoundland. ๐
Thanks for share Dior Bracelet!
This book sounds like me.
I’d love to win it.
Sounds Like a beautiful book written by a beautiful person! Congrats on all the success!
Sounds amazing, and I absolutely love the cover!
I love dandelions – and how fun that people are telling you about their dandelions, Kyran. Your book sounds lovely!
Must read this book! Thank you for the opportunity to win it!