Dear Mr. Pinkwater,
I came across your name on twitter this morning and I realized that I am long overdue to write you and tell you how much I've enjoyed your work. I first came across the piece that especially touched me when I was about 10, however it was not one of your books aimed at my age group. It was a cassette that my dad picked up while we were on a road trip to pass the time, "The Best of Daniel Pinkwater, Everyday Life". Your stories drew me in, and the words you chose seemed to fit together so perfectly that they would stick in my mind and roll around in there. I'm not usually one for listening to/ watching/ reading things over and over, or for memorizing quotes, but over the next 10 years I listened to your tape many times. I got to the point where I could rattle off chunks of it at the slightest provocation to the amusement and eventual annoyance of family and friends.
The quote you read on that tape from a review of one of your books, "burst like sherbet centered candies when the reference is recognized" exactly describes my experience. Phrases like "zygodactyl claw", "redolent of milk duds", "singing soto voce" – for years I didn't know what they meant, but I loved how they sounded. They stuck with me until I found out their meanings and then I loved them even more.
So even though I feel like it might be a bit egotistical to assume that my opinion matters much to you, I felt compelled to let you know that something you made affected me. It didn't inspire me to change the world, or even become a writer myself, but it did make me think, entertained me, and gave me a glimpse into a perspective different from my own, and that's enough for me.
Thank You,
Phoebe Moulthrop (aged 29 1/2)
P.S. I still have the cassette, but it's been a few years since I had a device to play it on. Does a digital copy exist anywhere that I could purchase?
Your opinion means everything to me--you're a reader/listener, and without you writing stuff would be ridiculous. There is a ton, by actual measurement, of digital sound files on this very website. Click Pinkwater Podcast, and audio archives. Thanks for your nice remarks.
