Jason Reynolds's Blog, page 19

Day 21of 30

THE FIRE

aint natural to be

dancing on a wick

leaning to the east

leaning to west

leaning to the whispers

of the familiar wind

resisting the beckon

of the blaze

because they say you better

here as a candle

say you softer

and prettier

when you’re contained

say you safer

say you too risky

when you wild

but they don’t

feed you enough to live

and the frustration

of being unable to

spread and burn

more than a flicker

more than a singular flame

has melted the walls

around you

burning you down

burning you out.

Day 20 of 30

COLUMBINE (RIP to the victims and continued prayers for the families)

Fifteen years

ago today

at a high school

in Colorado

Eric and Dylan

became mascots

for massacres

and rebranded

trenchcoats

as warnings

that maybe

we need more

cheerleaders

at home

About the book cover

Recently, I received an incredible comment from “Hillary” who read WHEN I WAS THE GREATEST, enjoyed it, but felt that the book cover was a bit dissonant in relationship to the actual story. She states:

“So I’m wondering, as the author, what are your thoughts about the book’s cover? To me it seemed incongruous with the story. Striking in its imagery of the hard, cold gun encased in the beautiful and colorful, soft knitting. And probably attention-getting on a shelf full of books screaming “buy me” and perhaps marketed to a certain segment of the reading population. But I didn’t think the gun was central to your story, and in that way I thought it was misleading in its representation of the characters, and Ali, and the tale you so lovingly told.”

First let me say, thank you for your comment and for even asking about why we chose what we chose for the cover. I really appreciate you reading the book and engaging in some critique of some of the choices made.

To answer your question, the book cover is a bit incongruous. You’re right. And that’s what my editor and I both wanted. I can’t stand book covers that tell the whole story. I prefer symbolism, some distance from the plot, some inference. It’s sort of like the old Velvet Underground album cover with the banana. The banana has nothing to do with the album. It’s just a dope piece of art by Andy Warhol. Now, I’m not going that abstract here. What we were trying to communicate in an eye-catching way, is the relationship between hard and soft, between aggressive and compassionate, between violence and peace. That’s a motif throughout the story, that Ali battles with, his father battles with, Noodles, Malloy who lost his legs, the neighborhood in general. So the handgun, a symbol we naturally equate to violence, has been knitted over, which is something we naturally equate to tranquility. Not to mention the knitting is a direct reference to Needles, of course, and the gun, more of a reference to John and his struggles and what his son thinks…(I don’t want to spoil the book for those haven’t checked it out yet!)

And lastly, Hillary, you’re right. It is a “Buy Me” cover. But more than that, it’s the kind of cover that (hopefully) will spark questions like these. When a young person sits on the train and reads it, another teenager might ask, “what is that?” and to me, that alone is HUGE. Why not be provocative if it promotes reading?

I hope this answers your question, or at least gives you some of the thought process behind the gun. It wasn’t just an arbitrary image, or even just a hook. It’s just symbolic, which is my preferred style.

Thank you so much, Hillary, for commenting and engaging. Seriously. It means the world to me that you’ve read the book, thought about it, and realized that the cover didn’t work for you. I’m all about discourse, disagreement, analysis, and all that, so please know that in the future, if there’s something else of mine you read in the future or another one of my covers you see that you don’t think works, air it out. Let me know. And I mean that! :)

J

Day 19 of 30

BONEHEAD

Dogs chase their own tails

until they’re tired.

Men chase their own tales

until they’re alone.

Day 18 of 30

JENE’S GIRLS

Jene got three little girls

who look like their daddy

but God already took daddy

back to the lighthouse

so these three little girls

already know what it’s like

to capsize in the blue

out of the blue

found out mommy could

inflate

could become a raft

to get her girls back to shore

to safety

where she teaches them

that the water is

fickle

spastic

uncertain

and mommy as a raft

may not always have air

and even though daddy

is in that lighthouse

shining on

the three of them

Jene teaches

the three of them

to lock arms

tight

and forever

be each other’s

life guards

Day 17 of 30

THE TYPE OF WOMAN

the type of woman

that even with her body

imploding in slow motion

tubes running through

her like subway tunnels

beeping machines

beeping beats of a

fluttering heart

beaten arrested muscles

fossilizing under

paper skin

yeast-filmed tongue

swollen

obstructive as

she coughs

and hacks up

the words

baby

reach in my purse

and grab my

lipstick

Day 16 of 30

CREATION

Seems like

God made man

marionettes

molded from

wet sand and ether

born in a

furnace world

our weird

toy hands tight

on the thermostat

turning up

Seems like

glass has always

been our destiny

both transparency

and reflection

always our purpose

Day 15 of 30 (HALFWAY THERE!)

DREAMS (so many terrible working titles)

Dreams

aren’t meant to

sit on their hands

they’re meant to

fling plates

against the wall

flip over desks

get sent down

to the principal’s

office where they

beg

for parents

to be called

where they

beg

for parents

to come

get them

Day 14 of 30

UNTITLED

I was born behind a crimson veil

That was passed to me through DNA

And in order for me not to fail

I must somehow tear that veil away

Must somehow tug a loosened thread

Until the hatred hem is torn

To finally lift the heavy red

That’s blocked my view since I was born

I’ll snip and clip at every scar

Let fabric feather to the floor

To see us all for who we are

And see the world for so much more

Day 13 of 30

QUESTION FOR COMMUNITY

Do you know how to convince

a boy he is beautiful?

Do you know how to tell him

he too is a flower

without having him wilt?