Lee Fodi, Author, Illustrator, Cofounder, Dream Workshop
by TARA M. CAMPBELL, photo by Jaime Kowal
A multicoloured wizard’s hat perched artfully atop his head, Lee Edward Fodi is speaking to a diverse group of squirmy young students at Maywood Community School.
He tells vivid tales drawn from his own life—growing up on a farm, running a tractor over his father’s outhouse—and about feeling like an outcast. Hanging on every word, the children are eased into stillness.
With the recent success of his books, Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers and Corranda’s Crown, it is clear that Fodi—a.k.a the Wizard of Words—is a children’s author and illustrator with impressive talent, transporting readers into a world of mystery and wonder. But it is the rare authenticity with which Fodi engages children that seems most magical. It is a gift that evolved with a fitting irony.
“As a child, I was quite shy,” reveals Fodi. “I want to give children what I wish I had: someone who cares about their ideas and their writing. I want to show them that they can do it.”
And that is exactly what Fodi is doing. He co-founded Dream Workshop, a writing program implemented through the Creative Writing for Children Society of Vancouver. With plans to expand the program into the community, Fodi is fully embracing his teaching role.
“It gives me goosebumps to think about it,” he says. “To see a student, especially one who has struggled, realize they have the ability to transfix an audience—it’s a fantastic equation to be a part of,” says Fodi. “I feel very blessed to be doing what I do.”
—Tara M. Campbell
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