Susan Napoli Picchietti of Deerfield thinks young authors should have a showcase for their literary efforts, something more visible than fame on the refrigerator door. So in May 1997, the 34-year-old wife and mother created the quarterly Potluck Children’s Literary Magazine.
Though it’s only a start, really, with a mere 125 copies per press run, her hopes are high, and the reception has been good. But to a generation for which the turn of a channel comes so much more naturally than the turn of a phrase, change can be slow.
“I’ve always written, even as a child,” Picchietti said. “I have volumes of things that I wrote when I was younger, but there was not much encouragement to submit articles” to publications. “I decided that since I had nowhere to submit when I was young, I’ll make someplace for these kids to go.”
And so she has, having published stories, poems and book reports from students locally and from as far as Washington state, Maine and Puerto Rico, students who learned about Potluck through newspaper ads or on the Web.
“I think she’s off to a good start,” said Susan Gundlach of Evanston, who teaches English and social studies at Washburne Middle School in Winnetka. “I like her idea of offering something to kids. . . . It has a lot of potential at this stage of development.”
After she learned of the magazine, Gundlach called Picchietti. “I’m always looking for ways to get my students’ work published, looking for a wider audience,” Gundlach said. “I made sure to send her a lot of writing from my students.”
Ten of her students have been published in Potluck.
“It looks like a cute little magazine with short stories and poetry from 8- to 12-year-olds,” said Diane La Magdeleine of Borders Books in Oak Brook. The 30-page publication is sold for $4.50 each at some Borders outlets or by subscription for $16 a year.
The opportunity to feature creative writing for young people has attracted the interest of Leigh Racklin of Lincolnshire. She is a stay-at-home mom but formerly taught high school English literature. When she saw a newspaper story about Potluck, she called Picchietti to volunteer her services.
Racklin has since become assistant editor, working with Picchietti at the latter’s home office.
“I’m very interested in literature and writing ” Racklin said. “I think kids have a pure vision and clarity. They are observing the world, finding a meaning in life.”
Picchietti “is the force behind the project,” Racklin said. “She encourages them, teaching them about the writing world (by writing back with corrections and suggestions).”
Picchietti never went to college, instead marrying at age 20 and starting a family with husband Rudy, 44, operations manager for JMJ Holdings of Libertyville, which produces the party-supplies catalog Panache. But Picchietti said she excelled in journalism and creative writing at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, and last fall, with her three children all in school, she went to work as a full-time librarian at Holy Cross School in Deerfield.
Her interests in writing sprouted much earlier than high school. “Susan was a wonderful young lady, an outstanding student who was academically strong and interested in learning,” said Sandy Kern, who has been a language-arts teacher for 28 years at Twin Grove School in Buffalo Grove. “She is gracious in giving of her time. She has great interest in kids and in education.”
Picchietti has addressed Kern’s students for her former teacher to let them know about the magazine and encourage them to write.
Jan Crider of Downers Grove welcomed the magazine, which gave a literary outlet to her sons, Nate, 12, and Scott, 10, both contributors to Potluck.
“We were looking for places to get the children an opportunity to be published,” Crider said. “Comments and feedback from others, not just a mom or a teacher, are important. It’s a wonderful supplement to school. This encourages and motivates them. I hope it makes them proud of their work.”
Picchietti found out how that feels when a poem of her own was published in Best New Poems of 1996 in Boston by the Poets’ Guild. The poem is titled “The Deliberate Mother” and chronicles the fleeting moments of childhood. An excerpt:
The joy of tender moments
that once filled each day,
caress my soul this evening
as I watch them drive away.
Her own children aren’t actually driving away yet: Angela is 12, Christopher, 10, and Eric, 7.
But she also knows that children grow up quickly, and precious times and relationships can be fleeting.
“My grandfather died when I was 13, a time when I was just beginning to talk to him and get to know him. He was a Polish emigrant, a quiet man,” Picchietti said. It was a small legacy from her grandfather, Joseph Cedzidlo, that allowed Picchietti to inaugurate her dream.
“He left me savings bonds purchased each birthday and Christmas. Since he had touched them, I didn’t want to get rid of them,” she said. But in March 1997, she opened an account with the $1,400 accumulated from the principal and interest from those bonds. That became the seed money for her new endeavor.
As for the publication’s name, ” `Potluck’ was something catchy, referring to whatever’s in the fridge is what you get,” Picchietti said.
She spends hours at her home computer, fax, scanner and color copier polishing each edition of Potluck before sending it to a printer in Deerfield.
“I’m very proud of her,” husband Rudy said. “She puts a tremendous amount of work into it. This is a very rewarding project she’s involved in, one that is very good for the children.”
Daughter Angela, who just completed 6th grade at Holy Cross School in Deerfield, has had one poem published in her mom’s magazine. “I’m glad that she finally got to do it,” Angela said. “She’s always wanted to do it. I hope it keeps going well.”
As Picchietti works to meet deadlines, she remembers her late Grandpa Cedzidlo and those savings bonds. “It is his love and generosity I remember most,” she said, “and I try to put both into each issue.”
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Contact Picchietti at: Potluck Children’s Literary Magazine, Box 546, Deerfield, Ill. 60015-0546, or visit her Web site at members.aol.com/nappic.
