Meet Carol

Carol de Giere is the author of two books that provide behind-the-scenes stories on popular musicals. The first book, Defying Gravity The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked, is now in its revised and updated Second Edition. This career biography takes readers into the world of the award-winning composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz known for the musicals Wicked, Pippin, and other Broadway shows and films. The second book, The Godspell Experience: Inside a Transformative Musical, records the history and song-by-song details for Godspell and features a Foreword by Stephen Schwartz. Both books serve as historical records in addition to offering insights on the creative process for fans of musicals, working writers, and performers. Carol is a consultant for a documentary feature about Stephen Schwartz’s creative journey.

Carol de Giere and her novelist friend Gregory Maguire at the opening night for Wicked in San Francisco

Carol “met” Stephen Schwartz by way of his website and conducted over eighty hours of interviews with him. Her questions focused on his creative process in order to discover some of the keys to his success. She began while he was in the middle of writing the score for Wicked, and was able to capture many stories about the ups and downs of the developmental process for Defying Gravity.

Ms. de Giere is also the founder of several online websites: The Schwartz Scene (now on Facebook), Musicalwriters.com that provides resources for writers of new musicals, and MusicalSchwartz.com.

A former librarian, Carol holds master’s degrees in library science and writing. In 2002, She and her husband packed a U-Haul truck and moved from Iowa to the New York City metropolitan area so that Carol could more easily complete her work on Defying Gravity. They now live in Connecticut where they enjoy writing, walking, reading, practicing yoga and meditation, and nature photography.

Carol de Giere with Stephen Schwartz speaking at Barnes and Noble in Skokie Illinois, 2009.

Carol’s Story of Getting Started as a Writer

Like many writers, I was inspired by a particularly good teacher. For me it was my 9th grade English teacher, Mark Parish. Mr. Parish was in his thirties (I’m guessing), with sandy blond hair and an athletic build. I’ll never forget the day he was so moved by a short story he read to us that he had to leave the classroom, so we wouldn’t see him weep. We sat silently wiping tears from our eyes. His fierce appreciation of language and literature woke me up to the wonders of language.

When I was a teenager I started writing poetry and reflections in my journals. Then when I was about 15, my family traveled to a remote spot in the Canadian Rockies. I saw a man there in a lodge who spent his summers writing in that quiet, beautiful spot. That was when I decided that being a writer would be an ideal career because it was so portable. I’ve tried many different occupations, but writing is what I prefer to do.

I worked as a librarian for six years but kept wishing I could be on the other side of the printed page. Although I loved helping people find good books, I longed to create my own.