Oak Forest HS Students Interview Author Michael Bamberger

Recently, Oak Forest High School teacher Jen Schanz’s Study of Contemporary Literature classes had the opportunity to interview Michael Bamberger. Bamberger is the author of the 2005 book Wonderland: A Year in the Life of an American High School. Students asked Mr. Bamberger numerous questions about his book, his life as a teenager, and about his writing involvement with Sports Illustrated while he was in the car on the way to an appointment. Wonderland is a story about a high school named Pennsbury High School in Pennsylvania that had one epic thing going for it: its prom. Bamberger was invited by school and its students to write about the school year leading up to the prom and he jumped at the chance. Bamberger is a journalist and talked quite a bit about using his journalistic ethics while writing this book. Bryana Loeza said, “Were the students comfortable sharing their personal lives with you?” Bamberger said that part of the job of a journalist is to put the interview subject at ease so that they feel comfortable sharing items with the reporter with whom they are talking. Breanne Morrissey said, “But what if a student tells you something about their lives that is illegal or immoral? Wouldn’t you tell the school?” Bamberger said that those types of situations were a judgement call. However, he said that, “if a student’s life was in danger, I most definitely would alert the school.” In all of the interviews he conducted for the book, he didn’t feel any of the students were in mortal danger so he did not have to have those conversations with the administration. Paxton Hoop said, “While you were writing this story, what part was the most emotional to write?” Bamberger said that he was very emotional about “Mike Kosmin's death. I was choked up when it came up...thinking about the pain his parents must feel, the hole in their hearts, the regrets major and minor.” Most students were in agreement that this was a sad part of the book. One of the things critics mention about Bamberger is his detail-oriented style, most likely derived from his journalistic training. He observes and he notes things about people and adds those details into compiling a person’s character. One student, Nick Snow, picked up on this detail-oriented style and asked, “As a writer, how do you decide how much detail to go into when you describe characters or things?” Bamberger said, “I sometimes--often?--overdo it, but I don't think you can have enough detail. Does the person wear Levi's or Wranglers? Does he use profanity? Does he put in only a single french-fry in the ketchup pile at time? Character reveals itself at odd times in odd places.” Bamberger also talked about journalistic ethics. He said that sometimes you do not include information in a story just because it impacts someone negatively, although he can’t recall doing it in this book. He added that he knows that in this contemporary age, the age of letting all information “hang out” this is an unusual philosophy but it is part of his ethical beliefs. Yasie Matthews asked Bamberger what his favorite high school memory was and he said, “Some of my prom-date rejections. Playing on the golf team and having the coach treat me like an adult. Playing poker during math class. The feeling like everything was ahead. Writing for the school paper. Taking the train from Patchogue to Manhattan.” Camryn Dusold asked, “Which student did you connect with or bond with the most?” Bamberger said, “Bob Costa, without a question, and he remains a good friend today. You can read him in the Washington Post and see him hosting Washington Week on PBS. He saw John Mayer at Obama's second inauguration. Mayer said to him, "Why am I not surprised to see you here?" I hear from some of them now and again but Bob is the only one I have regular contact with.” This is amusing because Bob spends a majority of the book trying to get John Mayer, who had just come out with the single, “Your Body is a Wonderland” to play at the prom, which is the overarching subject of the book.