Philip Pullman: Exercising Imagination, by Katherine Romano

With novels that dabble in adventure, fantasy, fairy tales and much more, author Philip Pullman leads his readers through worlds where imagination is key

"I hope that my stories reverberate in a child's mind rather than crowding it with questions and suggestions and interpretations," said author Philip Pullman.
Photo by Katherine Romano

Philip Pullman, author of the thought-provoking and highly successful trilogy, His Dark Materials, is dead-set against being labeled as a fantasy writer – or any type of genre writer, for that matter. "I go along with what Dr. Samuel Johnson said: 'A book should help the reader either enjoy life or endure it,'" he told us over breakfast at the Hotel Sofitel in New York City. "The trouble with pigeonholing books by genre is that once they have a particular label attached, they only attract readers who like the sort of book that has that sort of label."

It is with this reasoning close at hand that Philip has become exactingly careful in making sure that he never writes with a particular audience in mind. He discussed his strong belief that staying within the boundaries of one particular genre shuts out more readers than it includes. "I really feel that there are a large number of children's books that are worth adult attention. I want my audience to be as large as possible," he commented.

In the beginning.
As a child growing up in North Wales, England, Philip loved spending his time immersed in the worlds he could explore by reading comic books and acting in school plays. It was around this time that he also developed his love of literature and writing, which was enthusiastically encouraged by his English teacher, Miss Enid Jones. It was under Miss Jones' tutelage that Philip was also first introduced to the works of John Milton, whose world and language of Paradise Lost he found mesmerizing. In fact, the name His Dark Materials is a line taken from Milton, someone who, in addition to Miss Jones (who has received a copy of every novel he's ever published), Philip cites as one of his greatest influences.

From stage to novel.
Philip went on to graduate with a degree in English from the prestigious Oxford University and was a secondary school teacher for 12 years before settling down to write full-time. It was during his teaching days that the idea for writing books first began to take root in Philip's mind. He had recently begun noticing that the children at the school where he was teaching had little or no exposure to acting or any form of drama. Remembering how acting had provided an immense creative outlet for himself as a child, Philip began brainstorming about how he could give his students the opportunity to exercise their imaginations and learn about every aspect of a theatrical production. He called on his old love of writing and fascination with unlocking new worlds and drafted six or seven plays for children, each of which was performed at the middle school were he taught. "They were all sorts of things," he remembered. "Some of them were Gothic, spooky, horror tales. Some were comic melodramas, some were sort of Arabian Nights style fantasies." Many of these school plays would later become the basis for several of Philip's most well-loved novels including, The Ruby in the Smoke (RandomHouse, 1985), Count Karlstein (Knopf, 1998) and The Firework-Maker's Daughter (Scholastic, 1999). "So that's how I started writing things that children read," he said.

The His Dark Materials trilogy: The Golden Compass (1995), The Subtle Knife (1997) and The Amber Spyglass (2000). Each book has been published by Knopf.

A cast of characters.
Once he got his start as a published author and began writing on a full-time basis, Philip's ideas for story writing flourished. From the Sally Lockhart trilogy set in Victorian era England to the adventure and fantasy blend of his most recent trilogy, His Dark Materials, Philip's prolific resume includes a wide range of storytelling traditions, historical references, exotic locales and, to put it mildly, "unique" people. His motley cast of characters includes a boy who lived out his younger days as a rat, miniature spies outfitted with poison-filled spurs and whose preferred mode of transportation is upon the backs of dragonflies, an apprentice clockmaker who unwittingly makes a deal with the Devil and an armor-clad and defamed polar bear who later becomes a king. And for avid Pullman devotees, that's only the tip of the iceberg.

In addition to combining elements of fantasy and adventure in much of his work, Philip also enjoys exploring what he calls, "the European fairy tale tradition." His novels I Was a Rat! (Knopf, 2000), The Firework-Maker's Daughter and Clockwork (Scholastic, 1996) are all reminiscent of fairy tales, but each, in typical Pullman fashion, features its own distinct twist of the bizarre. "I love writing books in the fairy tale tradition, it's another strand of my writing that I really enjoy," Philip told us.

Along with becoming a mastermind for these intricately woven tales, comes some necessary attention to detail. Although he is careful that his research for each of his books is entirely accurate, Philip is not afraid of putting his own spin on things and letting his imagination take over. "The function of research in a novel is not to tell the reader a lot of arcane facts, it's to help you build a vivid picture of the world," he said.

The final chapter.
When we met and talked with Philip, he was at the tail end of an extensive book tour to promote the third and final book of the His Dark Materials trilogy, The Amber Spyglass. The novel was touted as one of the most anticipated books of this past fall and its appearance on bookstore shelves was eagerly awaited by Pullman fans since The Subtle Knife (the second installment in the series) was released three years ago.

The Amber Spyglass marks the return of heroine Lyra Belacqua and her friend Will Parry as they continue their extraordinary quest for answers to their questions about theology and the future of humanity. Although Lyra and Will actually hail from two separate worlds, they are an unparalleled team in the alternate world that lies within the pages of the His Dark Materials series. In this world, humans are accompanied through life with a shape-shifting daemon at their side and are able to "cut" through to other alternate worlds by using a special knife. Again, that's only the beginning.

While basking in the glow of having finished the culmination of his hugely successful and widely read trilogy, Philip is not one to rest for long. Upon returning home to England, he finished recording work for an audio version of The Amber Spyglass (he served as narrator for the previous two audio versions of The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife, as well) and is hard at work completing a film script. He told us that he also hopes to soon begin work on another shorter novel written in the fairy tale tradition.

With his limitless imagination and obvious talent for concocting incredible stories, we can only begin to dream of what Philip Pullman has in store next for his readers.

Katherine Romano, associate editor Teaching K-8 magazine.