Keith Baldwin

February 17, 2006

Dear Mr. Pinkwater,

Have you ever been to Iowa City? It’s a great writing town, full of weird characters (many of which are relatives of mine), and home to the University of Iowa. It is unfortunately chocked full of snobby kids from chicago suburbs who are just there for the school and tend to dislike the town. Quoth cousin Ben: “If you throw a stone, you’re bound to hit someone from a Chicago suburb. Please, throw it hard.” Anyway, it’s also home to the Iowa Young Writer’s Studio, a great camp which I attended last year, and with any will attend again this year. The only doubt lies with some trouble I’ve been having with the character in my writing sample. He’s coming off as too much of an adult (which is weird considering he isn’t much younger than myself). Do you have any advice for writing younger characters?

P.S. Iowa City is also home to the greatest toy store in the world, the Fun Zone (which features such classics as Sigmund Freud action figures [if your lucky you’ll find a faulty one with a flesh colered cigar]), whose owner is one of the few Pinkwater fans I know who aren’t my own converts, and whose sister recieved from you a full set of your books (signed I believe). She also got an interview with Salinger after 25 years of silence (I think I know which I’m more envious of).

Vicki Anderson

February 16, 2006

Thanks! I just listened to Scott Simon and you reading ‘How to Be a Good Dog’ with the help of Lulu. I appreciated you having Lulu there to help read it. Before I listened to Scott, you and Lulu reading of the book, I was reading some very depressing news stories. The three of you lifted my spirits. Thanks for all you do that enriches the lives of many.

Sarah

February 15, 2006

Lulu is very cool. Why isn’t she on the radio more?

How is Moby?

Random Tonical Being

February 14, 2006

WEIRD IS GOOD…. GOOD IS WEIRD….NORMAL IS BAD.. BAD IS NORMAL…. Do you like lemons?

Kelly Requa

February 8, 2006

To whom it may concern,

My brother and I are filmmakers/screenwriters and are infactuated with A. Mendelson the Boy From Mars. We would like to find a way to option the film rights. We are not wealthy, however we would give Mr. Pinkwaters book the utmost attention it is so deserving of. We have recently adaptad Marcos Rey’s, “Memoirs of a Gigolo” and are semi-legitamate.

Scott Sperry

February 6, 2006

Mr. Pinkwater,

I was extrememly glad to see Mush again. My library just picked up a number of your most recent writings. Can’t wait to share them with my students.

“Mush Rules”

Thought you’d like to know that because of your book “SuperPuppy”, I’ve owned Alalskan Malamutes for the past 15 years. My present dogs are Teekona and Amorak.

Connor

February 3, 2006

Hello!

I just wanted to say that I really like your books. My name is Connor. I live in California. Right now I am reading The Artsy Smartsy Club.

Sincerely,

Connor

Connor’s Graphic Designing

P. S. Please tell the webmaster that the link on pinkwater.com/pzone/links/index.html to ldixon.iccom.com/ArtPage.html is not working.

Kathy C

February 2, 2006

Dear DP:

My kids just made me watch the videos on this website called Muffinfilms.com and it reminded me of some of my favorite books by you (Rainy Day and Two Bad Bears, in particular). Thought you and your readers might enjoy it as well.

Kathy C

PS: My kids say hi.

Brad Sondahl

February 1, 2006

Shades of Kukumlima! I just read where the giant albino Palouse earthworm, Driloleirus americanus, which may grow up to 3 feet long, was found recently in Eastern Washington. Unfortunately, as often happens in earthworm research, it was cut in half in the act of finding it. It has a defense mechanism of exuding a lily like smell when bopped in the nose (hard to make up something stranger than that fact…) I assume that’s to fool birds into thinking it’s a flower. There’s talk of an expedition to find more of them. And here I thought your book The Worms of Kukumlima was a tad far fetched… I’ll never doubt you again.

Domini

January 27, 2006

Hello.

I’m now a teacher and I’ve been searching for one of the stories that really left an impression on me when it was read to me when I was in school: The Wuggie Norple Story. Unfortunately, it’s out of print and very expensive to buy used. It’s a lovely story and I would love to read it to my kids. Is there any hope for me? Will it ever come back into print? Or should I put myself out of misery and chuck up the 50 to 200 dollar price the used sellers are asking?

Anyway, thank you for writing a story that I still remember almost fifteen years from when I first heard.

Keith Baldwin

January 26, 2006

Dear Mr. Pinkwater

I just finished reading The Last Guru for probably the third time, and I still couldn’t help but crack a big smile when I was done. It’s the same way with all your books. Which is why I feel a bit cheated out of a well-earned portion of contentment… This is where I was going to complain about The Dada Boys in Collitch, until i did a search and found that you had addressed such complaints in this forum previously (I would still kill for even the merest hint at how the story was going to turn out by the way [as long as the person I had to kill had some way earned it… and was going to die soon anyway so there was no chance of rehabilitation… and were in a lot of pain anyway so I’d sort of be doing them a favor. Like that deaf blind guy they just executed, i would have pushed the plunger on his syringe for tasty Dada boy tidbit]). So instead of rambling on and on about that, I’d just like to ask, what’s with Iceland? I could just as easily ask about Bagels, or soft drinks with funny names, or Studebaker Larks, but I think I’m most curious about Iceland. What’s with it?

Gina Carmody

January 24, 2006

I am a reading teacher in NY. My elementary building inherited many approx. 100 new hardcover copies of Buffalo Brenda that are too mature for our primary students. I’d love to match them up with Jill’s readers who are looking for the book (there was an e-mail from Jan 2005 in her archive).

Any thoughts? Thanks!

Ryan Duncan

January 22, 2006

Dear Mr. Pinkwater,

Thank you for helping me get a A on my report. Also talking to you so many times gave me extra credit. in Yobgorgle mystery of lake ontatrio Eugene has just spotted yobgorgle and blew the whistle. Anyway when does your new book come out i would really like to read it.Thank you.

Your favorite Reader,

Ryan Duncan

Keith Baldwin

January 22, 2006

Last night I dreampt of you. Not in a weird way. In fact it was way too normal a dream to be satisfying (If i had been conscious of the fact that I was having a dream about Daniel Pinkwater I would have put some effort into bizzare happenings). Anyway, I think it stems from the fact that the night before I snarked out for the first time (due to hometown limitations, this involved going to bed early, getting up at around midnight, watching an hour of TVland, then walking to timhortons for a doughnut and some hot chocolate. Without waking my parents of course.) so I guess I’ve got pinkwater on the mind. The annoying part is, you weren’t doing anything cool like snarking out, you were just hosting a little party. You were very Gatsbyesque (not in that you were obsessed with an unrequited love, you were just a charming somewhat smarmy host old sport) and as soon as I woke up it bothered me. You can’t possibly be like that can you? And Jill can’t possibly be so vague and undefined (just because i’ve never seen a picture of someone doesn’t mean they are Indistinguishable Ford Grammit!)! Please dispell my anxiety and I’ll agree to keep you and yours out of my subconscious .

Keith Baldwin

January 21, 2006

Why do you taunt me mr. pinkwater? I just found out that the Snark theater is closely based on the real world Clark Theater, and got very excited before seeing that it was “closed/demolished”. It’s bad enough that there are no 24 hour theters in my home town, but to find out the pie(accent aigue)ce de resistance is gone!? i was devistated. Anyway, i wanted to ask for some advice for my cousin. He’s going to the University of Chicago and isn’t enjoying the city as much as he should. I already reccommended a Chicago style hotdog, any other suggestions? A bermuda triangle basis perhaps? Or a quirky old part of town? anything would help. Thanks for your time.

P.S. 32 minutes left till my first snarkout attempt!