
Author Imprint

Author Jason Reynolds on Connecting to the Power of Books
Author Jason Reynolds discusses the need for creative thinking when it comes to inspiring readers of all ages and backgrounds. He talks about leveraging cultural trends to connect people with books. And he discusses "Ghost," the first installment of his Track series - about how adults choose to interact with young people.
TRANSCRIPT
>> Hi. I'm Lisa Lucas.
I am the host of
"Author Imprint," and today I'm
going to be speaking with
Jason Reynolds, who has been
here today at the
Why Reading Matters Conference
hosted by the
National Book Foundation,
where I am the
Executive Director.
Jason, thank you so much for
joining me today.
>> Thank you for having me.
♪♪
>> Today we talked a little bit
about why reading matters.
>> Yeah.
>> And you had some interesting
thoughts on why it does matter.
I didn't expect you to start
with why reading didn't matter
to you as a young person.
>> I know you didn't
expect that.
[ Laughter ]
>> But why do you think it's
important to frame that
conversation that way for
people?
When you're trying to explain
why reading matters to someone,
why do you start
with the negative?
>> Because I think that,
especially in a crowd
like this crowd, right?
Like, for this crowd, which is a
crowd where everyone is sort of
working in books in some
capacity, right?
We're already the readers,
right?
We're the readers already.
And so, for me, I think
sometimes we can forget that
there are a lot of young people,
specifically, who are totally
disconnected from the power of
books.
And the reason why isn't --
Like, the reasoning behind that
isn't their fault.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> It's not their fault that
they're disconnected.
It's on us. It's up to us
to figure that out.
And so I want to make sure that
I always drive home the point
that, like, yes, today I am this
person.
But my entire childhood I was
disconnected from the power of
books, and the reason why I was
disconnected is because there
were no adults in my life to get
a little creative.
>> Mm-hmm. Yeah.
>> There was no one to say,
"Well, what are you looking for?
What do you need?
What do we..."
It just was a different time.
>> Yeah.
I think about that a lot, too --
the parents.
You know, we talk all the time
about inspiring young people to
read and building this new
audience, but, like, how do you
talk to the parents?
Somebody who's spent 30 years,
40 years not reading at all,
how do you actually get them
involved in the act of reading?
Because it's like, if you're a
kid and your parents don't care,
and they don't think it's
worthwhile, even if there is
something for you --
which, like, authors like
yourself.
>> Right.
>> Lots of people are starting
to provide those options.
>> Yeah.
>> How do you then get the
parent to value the books in the
home, and books in their own
life?
>> I think therein lies the rub,
right?
Like, I don't know if I have the
answer for it.
I think that is where...
It's like anything else.
Whether we're talking about the
technological gap, whether we're
talking about -- the gaps are
the gaps, and our job is to
figure out how to close it.
I'm not exactly sure I have the
answer, but I do know that --
I remember in 1999, 2000, 2001,
I was working in a bookstore
in D.C.
No. 2003, 2004,
'cause that was college.
I'm working at a bookstore in
D.C.
This, as I'm sure you remember,
was the boom of the
street novel.
>> Right.
>> Right? They were everywhere.
Of course, we feel how we feel.
Like them, hate them,
whatever, whatever, whatever.
They flooded the market.
And in this bookstore, which was
a Black bookstore, we carried
65% of this kind of novel.
And what I was seeing was tons
of adults rushing into the
bookstore to read this novel.
Now, do I think these are
"good" books or well-written
books?
Not necessarily.
But there's something to be
learned.
>> Oh, yeah.
>> Right? The same thing that
they were finding in those
novels is the same thing that I
was finding in Tupac.
There's something there,
and if we could figure out how
to harness that thing, and
figure out how to place it other
places and draw the connection
that way, I think that we can
start to bridge the gap
a little bit.
But that takes time and effort
and creativity.
>> Yeah.
Do you talk to parents ever?
>> All the time.
>> Yeah. And what do
they often say?
Are they thankful for the work?
Are they reading it themselves?
>> That's what I was gonna say.
A lot of times, they're reading
the books, too.
And so what will happen is a kid
will say -- like a lady who was
just here.
She was like, "You know, my
daughter met you in some school.
She read your book, and then
came home and said, 'Mom, you
have to read this.'"
And in that moment, there's a
bridging of the gap.
And I think it's happened even
with reluctant adult readers.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Because, one...
And people tend to be a bit
pretentious about the way we
talk about these things.
But one, there's something a
little less...
There's something disarming
about reading books for
young people...
>> Mm-hmm.
>> ...especially for adults
who are reluctant readers,
and adults who may struggle
with literacy.
There's something disarming
still -- that doesn't make -- we
shouldn't look at them as
less than.
We shouldn't look at those
adults who are "reading down"
as less than, either, because
there is something to be gained.
Whether it be a relationship
with your child, whether it be a
relationship with literature and
letters and storytelling
and literacy --
All of those things matter.
>> Mm-hmm.
And I think there's a way to
frame it to encourage parents.
You should be reading what your
kids are reading.
>> You should.
>> You should be able
to have that discussion.
And I think that takes a little
bit of the, like, stink of
"reading down."
>> Exactly. Exactly.
>> Which it isn't, right?
But, you know, back to your own
book -- "Ghost" was the last one
that I read, and I have three
new books of yours on my stack
to read, which are all coming
out soon, which is exciting.
But I remember there was one
moment where a little kid was
eating sunflower seeds.
>> Yeah.
>> And the recognition, the
spark of recognition of my own
youth and, like, hanging out,
you know, in the summertime
eating sunflower seeds with
kids.
Which is such a, like,
Black reference.
>> Very Black.
>> Which is such a -- like,
something that I don't talk
about every day or think about,
but I certainly have never seen
it in a book.
>> Yeah.
>> This simple thing, eating
sunflower seeds and spitting
them out, you know.
>> Yeah.
>> And, like, figuring out how
to, like, break them open, lick
the salt off, get the seed out.
And I think that there's so much
value -- and this is maybe less
of a question and more of a
statement about being able to
find that recognition
in your books.
But I think that --
>> There's something to the
sunflower seeds, though.
>> Yeah.
>> Like, I also wrote --
So, the sunflower seeds in
"Ghost," it's interesting,
because I wanted it to be this
really familiar Black reference
about this snack food that we
all eat sort of passively, this
thing that we all do.
It's the same where my
grandfather would eat peanuts.
Like, that was his sort of form
of this --
It's like a continuous snack.
You're just kind of eating them
all day, and you're
spitting them out.
But what I also wanted to do
with the sunflower seed was use
it as a motif.
The truth is that the sunflower
seeds were also reference to the
adults in his life.
You have choices when it comes
to how we deal with young
people.
You can chew them up...
>> Mm-hmm.
>> ...you can lick the salt.
Or you can take your time
to crack the shell.
That is literally what...
>> Yeah.
>> I mean, that's what "Ghost"
is about, you know?
Author Imprint Podcast
- WordsAuthor Imprint: The Podcast — Lisa LucasJune 28, 2018
- WordsAuthor Imprint: The Podcast — Meg WolitzerJune 21, 2018
- WordsAuthor Imprint: The Podcast — Steve BerryJune 14, 2018
More Episodes (8)
-
Panel: Steve Berry, Katherine Neville, and Jeffery DeaverMay 31, 2018
-
Meg Wolitzer Discusses "The Female Persuasion"April 26, 2018
-
Cartoonist Roz Chast Discusses Her Book "Going Into Town"March 08, 2018
-
Becky Aikman Discusses "Off the Cliff"March 02, 2018
-
Jeremiah Moss Talks Gentrification in "Vanishing New York"November 16, 2017
-
Author Jason Reynolds Discusses "Ghost"July 26, 2017