We were in the middle of a pop quiz in American History when we heard the announcement of “code black” on the intercom. This drill was the first of many to come. The teacher turned off the lights and barricaded the door and we all hid under our desks in silence. The quiet was deafening.
I looked at the window and thought how I could jump out and run past the highway and hide in the woods if I needed to. My dad said to always run in a zig zag. Harder to hit. It was eerie to think that this was now necessary. It wasn’t the first time I thought of the chance of someone coming through the door shooting. My mom would always reference her Cold War drills in school in the sixties, but in my case the “enemy” was not a stranger across an ocean. It could be someone you play kickball with in the gym class.
INTRODUCTION:
Chelsea Ragan’s graphic novella, Last Days of Paper, is a snapshot into the “new” world high school students confront. Beyond the everyday insecurities that Ragan’s main character, Ash, faces she also lives in fear that her school might be the next Columbine.
Ragan’s characters are who you might expect from any teenaged character. They pass notes about boys and listen to Britney Spears, The Red Hot Chili Peppers (one of my personal favorites), and Sarah Mclaughlin; the book is the ultimate 1990’s soundtrack. They’re also grappling with normal insecurities. They are self-conscious about their changing bodies, worry about dating, what to wear to Prom, sex, and what their future looks like after high school. However, there’s a new pervasive element that Ash and her friends experience—the fear that a classmate might bring a gun to school and start shooting.
Last Days of Paper would be an excellent selection for teachers who are looking for YA and/or short fiction to add to their syllabus to address the trauma and tragedy of mass shootings at schools. With modern technology, getting the youth to pick up a book is a challenge. Ragan’s novella is an immersive experience which blends prose, music, and narrative imagery and articulating the everyday teenaged life alongside a violent reality.
Interview:
Dawn Major: I noticed that you were born in 1984 which would put you at the age of 15 years old when Columbine occurred. Were you tapping into your own high school experience? Or what compelled you to choose this subject matter? And how do you think your book can help younger readers?
Chelsea Ragan: Definitely, I wrote Last Days of Paper from a firsthand experience as a graduate of the class of 2002. It’s a work of fiction but was inspired by my own coming of age. The late nineties were such a unique time to grow up. So much changed during that time that shaped the current world we live in. I think this book can give young readers a firsthand point of view of what it felt like to be on the precipice of great societal and personal change while also helping to digest these two heavy events that impacted this generation so greatly, Columbine and 9/11.
Dawn Major
DM: This is a creative process question. As an artist and a writer, what came first here? Did you visualize the narrative images first, the storyline, or was it a bit of both?
CR: As an artist first, I really never imagined that I would or could write a story like this. I’ve always visualized my work through concepts, feelings and imagery, and never words before. It was really uncharted territory, but I love the challenge. Last Days Of Paper came to me as a full story like I was watching a movie. I started to visualize the characters and settings like I would a painting. I wanted to sprinkle a little bit of those paintings on every other page. I’ve always had a soft spot for children’s books that have illustrations throughout the book to give more context.
DM: I have my own thoughts about your title, Last Days of Paper. My God, I remember sticking notes in my best friend’s locker. Now everyone has a cell phone and communicating with their peers is vastly difference than what it was in the 1990s. So, I was wondering how the title came to be. Would you elaborate?
CR: Yes, Last Days Of Paper is a powerful statement, isn’t it? I didn’t even have a title while writing most of the book. When I started writing about a box of saved letters and the characters using a cell phone for the first time, I realized that the title could be an impactful way to describe an entire generation. In the book I write about this crucial time before cell phones changed our lives. We really were living in the unknown and were comfortable doing so. Today, we rely so much on the knowledge we believe that cell phones give us but there really is power in not knowing. The characters in the book experience the unknown by showing up at the movies wondering who will be there, passing a note at school and waiting on the curb for a ride, trusting someone will show up. I need it to be known that I still believe in the power of paper and the physical archive. I hope to encourage the reader to pick up their pencil next time they need to leave a note for someone and not just send a text.
DM: I mentioned that reading Last Days of Paper felt like an immersive experience. The readers can actually see your characters and scenes, but you also allude to various songs and musicians that were popular in the 1990s and there’s a playlist at the back of your book. I loved that!
Why was it important for you to create a playlist and would you describe how music affects the narrative?
CR: Making a playlist was a MUST for me. I think it would be hard pressed to find someone from my generation that didn’t identify strongly with music. Whatever your music interests, this era was something special for everyone. Think about how many mixtapes we had and what it felt like to decode the songs on a mixtape from a crush. A playlist can tell secrets and say the things you were too scared to say aloud.
DM: Thanks for tackling this subject matter and doing it in an accessible way. I wish you the absolute best with Last Days of Paper and in your future endeavors.
Chelsea Ragan
Bio: Chelsea Ragan is an artist, baker, mother of two, and thrift store enthusiast living in Black Mountain, NC. Ragan was born and raised in Thomasville, GA, and went on to receive an MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art. In her artistic career Ragan has created oil paintings, paper cut illustrations for magazines, a nonprofit educational experience, and now a book. Ragan’s work as an artist and art organizer has been featured in Art in America, Artforum, Temporary Art Review, the Buckminster Fuller Institute, and more. More about Chelsea Ragan: https://www.chelsearagan.com/
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