Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Nov 12/01) - We're sitting at the Nanook Lounge, and 39-year-old Pete Marlowe is giving a private performance of one of his three children's books, the Trailer Park Princesses. People are trying not to stare.

They can't really help it. Marlowe's eyes have become big, his voice thick and he's sipping beer at the page turns. The wiry, wild-looking children's book author knows how to grab your attention he's had years of practice as an amateur actor, musician and magician.

Here's part of a conversation he had with News/North last week when he was in town for a reading and performance at the Inuvik Centennial Library.

How long have you been performing for?

I was a shepherd in a Grade One Christmas pageant. All the outgoing kids were really shy doing their Christmas parts. But to me, it seemed like the most normal natural thing to be performing in a Christmas show.

How did you get into writing children's books?

It all started with this book, Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak. I stole this book from the library when I was in Grade One. I didn't mean to steal it at first. I put it in my desk and I kept it and kept it. It's still my favourite kid's book.

The Arabian Nights is the other book that started it all. I was four and we went to the public library with my dad and he said, 'Okay, pick out one book each for bedtime stories.' I picked this one and he said, 'You can't pick that one, it's too old.' And I threw a fit.

So he agreed and we took it home and he read it to us every night.

I fell in love with storytelling then. I didn't really understand it all, but I knew the stories were magical.

So you were inspired when you were just a tot, but you didn't publish your first children's book until a year and a half ago. What happened?

I was doing stuff for grown-ups. I did plays, one failed novel, one really good novel, at least I think. I'll know when I finish it if it's really good. I also did poetry and songs.

Okay, so then how did you get from all that to writing children's books?

I was living with (my girlfriend's) kids, and telling them children's stories and I guess I wanted to write better ones. My girlfriend's daughter was having a birthday and so I wrote her this book. We lived in a trailer park and I thought the two girls were princesses. That was four years go.

So then you just got it published.

Yeah, the list of publishers started with A, and I sent it to the first one on the list, which was Annick Press.

So now you're performing to promote your books. How is it different performing for kids and performing for adults?

With kids, you really have to improvise. When you perform, it's like you're in charge of the space and you're creating a mood. With kids, that mood can be lost really fast. If you're losing the mood, you have to do whatever you can to get it back.

Adults will never let you know that you've lost the mood. Adults will pretend to pay attention. So it's more immediate with kids.

You're studying part time to get into medical school, and you also write country and western songs and you work in construction. Which label fits you best?

None of them. I'm a poet. When I was 19, I decided to dedicate my life to poetry.

I was writing an exam. It was my second year of English at the University of Victoria. We had to write an essay on the romantic poetry of William Wordsworth. One of the poems goes: "Up, up my friends, quit your books." We had to write an essay explaining this whole poem, and what I thought this poem meant was that you should get up, quit your books, experience the world, and then you'll be able to understand poetry and write poetry.

And I remember I took a second, a really long second, and by the time the second was over, it was like there was no other choice. I had to get up, walk out of that exam, go into the world, and be a poet.

The world can be pretty hard on poets. What have you been doing to keep body and soul together?

It's been difficult at times, but there's always work. In rough spots, you know, get a job. I've worked on farms, I've worked in construction, I've been a window washer, I've been a journalist, I've been a human rights worker, I've been a chef, I've been a bricklayer's helper.

Out of all those, did you have a favourite?

Yeah, I probably shouldn't say this, because of the kids, but, priming tobacco.

Priming tobacco? You really have done lots of stuff. What keeps you going?

I find life pretty fascinating and I think one of the things that keeps it fascinating is doing a variety of things.

Like studying science, doing construction, writing kid's books. You have to keep everything engaged, your mind, your body, your imagination.

The awful thing is, in society, you get forced or backed into a corner where you can only use one of yourself.

So do you think that's the root of all discontentment?

Sure, the root of all discontentment.

You seem like a restless spirit. All this stuff, travelling, doing different things, that's all exciting. But what about just sitting still and doing one thing. You know like just being content.

Contentment's good. I'm content with being restless. I'm gloriously happy right now. I think I can keep on being restless. If you do it long enough, I think it might be a lifestyle that works.

Might be? That sounds kind of like you're not 100 per cent sure.

I'm not 100 per cent confident about it, in that I don't know. It might not be. To be restless is a bit more of a risky proposition than to take the steady job, you know.