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ABSTRACT
As creative writers we produce dialogue between others, first-person narratives representing others, and in various ways the voices of characters not ourselves. Problems can arise when we feign other-culture, other-gender, other-era or other-aged voices. In this context, the case of Frederick Kohner and his character Gidget, based on his daughter Kathy, provides insights. This article suggests that the older-generation spin, the male slant, and the European culture perspective which Kohner massaged into the teenage voice of his Gidget books (1957–1968) was precisely why they were successful both commercially and as teenage literature in the 1950s and 60s. Kohner nuanced his daughter Kathy’s voice so that it spoke to her peers as well as to a larger world. Occasionally in the argument I reference my own involvement in writing novels from the perspective of a teenager.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 For an account of Tri-Y clubs in America see: Vintagekidstuff.com Citation2018.
2 The original title of the first Gidget publication was: Gidget: The Little Girl with Big Ideas.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Nigel Krauth
Nigel Krauth is Professor and head of the writing program at Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia. He has published novels, stories, essays, articles and reviews. His research investigates creative writing processes and the teaching of creative writing. He is the General Editor of TEXT: Journal of writing and writing courses. In 2016 he published Creative Writing and the Radical (MLM). His next book, for publication in 2021, is The Writer's Mind and the Writing Process (MLM).