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Back to Featured Interviews >> MEET LISA YOUNT
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| Lisa Yount |
Science is a wonderful way to learn about nature and the world around us. It is fascinating to see all the strange and beautiful forms that nature takes and find out about the complicated ways that different parts of nature work together. That includes the different parts of our bodies, of the ecosystems in which plants and animals live, and of human society, too. I like writing biographies of scientists because scientists are explorers. Some go to exotic, difficult places such as Antarctica or tropical rain forests, but the ones who stay closer to home are explorers just as much as the ones who travel. They use microscopes and other tools to prowl around in such things as the inside of living cells and the inside of atoms. Writing about the challenges they face and the amazing things they discover is great fun.
When did you become interested in science?
When I was about six or seven years old, I think. I remember wanting a toy doctor kit (NOT a nurse kit—boring!) for my birthday when I was about six. I checked stacks of books out of the library to read about dinosaurs, strange creatures that live in the deep sea (still a favorite topic), stars, and everything on medicine that I could find. I loved to read biographies of scientists, too, such as Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor.
When did you first start writing?
At about the same age as I got interested in science. I can still remember a little nonsense rhyme called “Solomon Terry,” which was the first thing I wrote that I know of. In fourth grade I wrote a fantasy, “Mary the Magic Cat,” that ran about five typed pages (I could type by then, fortunately—my handwriting was, and is, terrible!). I also kept a file of newspaper articles on medicine and wrote little summaries of them.
What subjects in science do you like best?
I usually write about biology and medicine rather than the physical sciences. I’m fascinated by living things. I love learning about weird plants and animals and about how the human body works. In recent years, watching all the new discoveries in genetics has been very exciting. In biographies of scientists, I especially like writing about women scientists and scientists who belong to minority groups because they had to overcome special challenges. Many of them managed to make amazing discoveries in spite of being told over and over that they were not intelligent enough to understand science or make a career in it. It’s sad, though, to think of all the effort they had to spend in fighting these obstacles that could have gone into their scientific work instead.
What are the topics of some of your books?
I have written a number of books on biotechnology, genetics, and genetic engineering. I have written about the history of medicine and medical topics such as epidemics and antibiotics. I wrote biographical dictionaries of women scientists and of biologists, as well as books that describe smaller numbers of scientists who belong to particular groups (women, African Americans, Asian Americans) or who investigate particular fields (genetics, marine science, astronomy, forensics). I have written or edited books on controversial topics related to science, including health care, animal rights, and assisted suicide.
How do you get material for your books?
I read what scientists or reliable science writers have written—books, magazine articles, and so on. Sometimes I am lucky enough to be able to interview the scientists myself, usually over the telephone (or these days, by e-mail). Nowadays I do most of my research over the Internet, which I can do from home instead of having to sit in a library for hours, feeding endless dimes into microfilm machines. Sorting through all the material and deciding which sites are reliable is sometimes hard, though.
Do you do other types of writing besides science writing?
Yes, I have written poetry all my life. My poems have appeared in a variety of “little” magazines, and I self-published two books of poems. I also like to write funny fantasy stories in which my friends and I go on adventures. I hope someday to write fantasy or murder mysteries for a general audience.
What do you like to do besides write?
The big thing for me today is art. I take photographs and combine them on the computer, using Photoshop, to create visions of the way I see nature. (If you’re curious, you can see some of my pictures on my website, www.lionlight.com.) I like to explore the places where the outer world of nature and the inner world of the imagination meet. Just like science, art and poetry can be used to go deeply into nature and investigate our relationship to it.