The audacious, Newbery medal-winning Kwame Alexander wants to introduce you to some people – both in his own work and in his new HMH imprint Versify, which showcases voices underrepresented in publishing.
Swing, co-authored with Mary Rand Hess, is Kwame’s second Young Adult novel-in-verse and tells the story of 17-year-old high school junior Noah, who seeks to make the baseball team and win over the heart of Sam, a girl he’s loved since third grade.
Kwame’s all-ages event at the store (Friday, October 12, 6pm) will feature Randy Preston on guitar and offer a dynamic, inspiring performance. Kwame is already on tour for Swing, but I caught up with him by phone and asked a few questions.
Q: What inspired Swing?
A: It was inspired by remembering how I was in high school, not being cool, liking a particular girl and being afraid to tell her. Finally, I did tell her, and I asked her to the prom – she said she’d think about it ….
[Ed note: They went. Kwame reports having a good time.]
It’s also an ode to jazz music, like Solo was to Rock & Roll.
Look for the first Versify titles coming April 2019
I also wanted to write about social justice. I believe poetry, books, can change minds, change the world. It’s kind of audacious, but I believe I can change the world. I want people to see the value in all our lives. I want people to be able to appreciate and relate to people who have different experiences from them, who are not them.
Q: What’s authentic cool?
A: For me – poetry, tennis, love poems, being a dad.
You gotta find your own authentic cool. Walt (one of the characters in Swing) says he’s looking for his authentic cool, but really he’s already got it – he is unabashedly okay with being himself – obsessed with baseball, possessed of death trivia . . ..
You have to find your authentic cool for yourself, what engages, moves you, whether other people get it or not.
Q: Tell me a little about Versify, your new imprint.
A: Book publishing is an amazing dinner party, but it’s the same people at the table over and over again and there are always some empty seats. I want the table to be packed, just full of interesting people, anyone who can entertain and empower.
Q: What are you working on next?
A: There will be a continuation of the story in The Crossover.
And I’ll be making a big announcement Oct. 13 – maybe, just maybe, I’ll give you all in Key West a hint the night before . . ..
~ Robin Wood, Associate Manager