An Interview With the Man Behind the Book Swag Hashtag
Yahdon Israel was sitting on a Manhattan-bound A Train when he noticed a kid board the subway. Said kid wore Reebok Kamikaze IIs, camouflage pants and a flannel shirt tied around his waist. In his hand: a frayed copy of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
Like all good subway riders who know to say something when they see something, Yahdon took out his phone, snapped a picture of the unassuming passenger, posted it to Instagram and captioned the photo “#literaryswag.” Since then, Yahdon’s account has grown into a platform showcasing the synthesis of his two favorite things: reading and style.
We caught up with Yahdon to ask him a few questions about the merging of literature, personality and style while taking full photographic advantage of his own head-to-toe swag.
What compelled you to launch #LiterarySwag beyond that initial photo?
The intimacy between style and literature, reader and writer is underrepresented. I wanted to show that readers and writers are not only alive, well, and real people, but that they also have style. They look like you and I. The more we see readers with whom we can identify, the more society (hopefully) will identify with reading.
When I meet writers, I ask them to give me their three favorite writers and their three favorite designers. I call this “myliteraryswag.” It’s fascinating that Claudia Rankine — winner for the NBCC Award for Poetry — is as much a fan of Jil Sander, Marni and Dries Van Noten as she is of Toni Morrison, Rita Dove, and James Garcia.
Why do you think Instagram has proven to be an effective platform for this movement?
Instagram is the medium that best represents the symbiotic relationship between pictures and text. On Instagram, uploading a picture is only half the battle; the other half is how we interpret the pictures as indivudals. A million people can interpret the same picture one million different ways.
It’s also a great negotiator for #literaryswag because Instagram is as instant as it is everlasting. These fleeting moments — whether it be a snapshot of a stranger on the subway or a 15 second video — live forever.
Why do you think “serious” writers don’t typically outwardly indulge in fashion?
I think they want to be taken seriously. Being a “serious writer” requires the absence of anything which reads as shallow or superficial. For a lot of people, fashion is shallow and superficial because it stresses the physical: the appearance of things. Writers concern themselves with penetrating that surface so, to me, an immediate paradox arises.
Do you ever feel that tension when speaking with writers?
A lot of writers are hesitant to give their three favorite designers because they feel like they’re compromising their integrity as writers, as though admitting to liking Dries Van Noten will call their literary credibility into question. I understand that. I think we all do.
Even fashion designers fight against superficiality, to have people see what they create as more than fashion and fabric — as something in deep conversation with the human condition. What I try to do with #literaryswag is show how both the literary world and the fashion world are using the surface, the superficial and the shallow as terrain to express something else.
Best #LiterarySwag moment to date?
Had to be Junot Diaz.
A video posted by YahdonIsrael (@yahdon) on Apr 16, 2015 at 6:48pm PDT
Where do you draw sartorial inspiration from?
From people I see on the street. It’s always interesting to see how people throw their outfits together. There have been times when there are things in my closet that I have forgotten about or am not sure where they fit in my wardrobe, and I’ll go outside and see someone utilize the piece in a way that reinvigorates what I have in my closet.
Most of all, my inspiration is pulled from women. Women are more sartorially savvy because so many things are made for women. There’s pressure for women to constantly reinvent themselves or else they’ll be forgotten. Women are always refashioning old pieces anew. Just like “necessity is the mother of invention,” I think women are hands down the mothers and inventors of style.
I know I’ve put together a successful outfit when a woman compliments it.
Drop us your Literary Swag
Literary Swag: James Baldwin, Hilton Als, Maya Angelou
Swag Swag: Maison Margiela, Ralph Lauren, Scotch & Soda.
For more #literaryswag, follow Yahdon on Instagram here and in 140 characters here. For three books to read while you’re in a food coma, clicky clicky, and if you’re feeling ambitious, write your own beach read. Of course, there’s always MR Round Tables to keep you occupied.
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