Books as Mirrors and Windows: Kwame Alexander’s Identity Through Words
For The Love With Jen Hatmaker Podcast
Jen Hatmaker
4.6 • 6.3K Ratings
🗓️ 11 September 2018
⏱️ 56 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Our book series is in full swing, and we’re loving the conversations about reading and how words help us voice what really matters to us! This week’s guest is author, poet, and educator Kwame Alexander. And if you’ve never been into poetry, Kwame is here to change your view. He believes poetry is powerful enough to change the world, inspire our youth—even woo a spouse (He wrote his now-wife Stephanie a poem a day for a year. Let the collective swooning begin!). Kwame is the New York Times bestselling author of 28 books for children, teens, and young adults, but his path to becoming a published author wasn’t all flowers and love poems. Kwame shares how his Newbery-winning novel The Crossover faced 22 rejections before a publisher finally picked it up, and the tenacity it took to keep saying “yes” in a sea of “no’s.” Kwame reminds us that so much of our ability to develop an imagination and know our place in the world comes from the pages of a book. His love affair with words will ignite each of us to pursue stories that heal us, move us, and change us.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi everybody, my name is Remi. Welcome to the For The Love Podcast with your host, |
| 0:07.0 | Jen Hatmaker, my mom. She writes books and speaks to |
| 0:10.9 | cows, but she mostly loves talking to amazing people on this podcast every week. |
| 0:17.0 | Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoyed the show. |
| 0:20.0 | Hey everybody, it's Jen Hatmaker, your host on The For The Love Podcast. |
| 0:25.0 | Welcome, welcome. We are in the middle of a dynamic series called For The Love of Books. |
| 0:32.0 | I honestly can't believe it took me one year to do for the love of books, my favorite subject. |
| 0:37.0 | So we are talking to writers of really all stripes, fiction, nonfiction, kids. |
| 0:42.0 | It's been so fun to learn about what makes writers tick and how they go from an idea in their head |
| 0:48.0 | to holding a finished book in their hands. So listen, you are going to be so delighted |
| 0:53.0 | that you decided to have a listen to this episode because our next guest is so great, you guys. |
| 1:00.0 | I just had the best hour talking to him. He is a prolific, brilliant writer, that you and your kids |
| 1:08.0 | will positively want to know about if you don't already and you probably do. |
| 1:12.0 | So I'm so glad to welcome today Kwame Alexander. Kwame is a poet, an educator. |
| 1:19.0 | He is the New York Times' best son, author of 28 books, including his Newberry winning middle grade novel, |
| 1:27.0 | The Crossover, his National Book Award, nominated novel, booked along with tons of other books for children, |
| 1:35.0 | for teens, and for young adults. And so, besides just being an amazing, award-winning writer, |
| 1:41.0 | Kwame is also a regular contributor to NPR's Morning Edition. |
| 1:46.0 | He has literally received all the awards. I mean, Coretta Scott, King author, honor book, |
| 1:52.0 | Revenant Hopkins Poetry Prize, 2017 Pat Conroy Legacy Award. He has had three in double-ACP |
| 2:00.0 | image award nominations. I mean, he's the real deal. I can't wait for you here and talk about how he thinks about poetry |
| 2:06.0 | and how it can change the world and be used to inspire young people all around the world. |
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