a miscellaneous Jane Yolen memory

Jane Yolen has passed on. She certainly accomplished a lot while she was among us: author of literally hundreds of books. Many of them very short children's books, but some were longer. I have about 35 of them. I probably cherish most some of the short story collections, but my strongest memories are of some of the full-length novels: Briar Rose, Cards of Grief, The Devil's Arithmetic. I am also particularly glad to have an essay collection on fantasy, titled Touch Magic.

What really sticks with me about Jane Yolen, though, is that for some years we were pretty good friends. As in, if we'd see each other at a convention we'd sit down for a long chat. I think this began as a result of her first (of two) appearances as Mythcon Guest of Honor, in 1984. I was editing Mythprint in those days, and I wanted some celebratory material on the GoH, and I recall writing her with some bibliographical questions - she was prolific even then. We had some mutual friends in the apa Apanage to which she belonged, so that was a seed for acquaintance. That must be how it started.

During that period - it must have been about 15 or more years before we fell out of touch - I visited her at her home in western Massachusetts twice I think. But what I remember most is a visit somewhere else. In the summer of 1992, I spent a week in Edinburgh in Scotland. At that time, Jane and her husband David were renting a house in St. Andrews, not far to the north, so I drove up one day to see them. The rented house was an impressive semi-Gothic structure, but my particular memory comes from Jane driving me over to a modern suburban neighborhood, to the home of friends of theirs. These friends had decided to hold an American-style backyard barbecue, complete with hamburgers fired on a grill; and I was Jane's guest. Soon after I arrived, it started to rain pretty heavily, so we all grabbed the fixings and retreated inside. But this was Scotland, where a rainy day at any time of year is normal, and despite my limited experience there I knew that. What puzzled me was that any of the natives should have been surprised at the rain.