HoCoPoLitSo's video: Jason Reynolds on writing the mask

In this edition of HoCoPoLitSo’s The Writing Life, poet and young adult author Laura Shovan dives deep into the craft of writing with New York Times bestselling writer Jason Reynolds, winner of the Walter Dean Myers Award, the Coretta Scott King Award, and an NAACP Image Award. Reynolds speaks about his books’ unconventional plot strategy: “it doesn’t tie up in a neat bow, but none of my books do, only because I think life doesn’t do that. … I think it’s disrespectful of the reader to give away answers. I think our job is to lead them to the point where they can do the rest of the work themselves.” He compares his novel in verse, Long Way Down, which takes place completely in one elevator ride, to a Hitchcock movie, in which the director tilts the camera to amp up the tension. Reynolds reads from his latest book, For Every One, which is a pep talk in verse. “This is a pep talk for me. This isn’t a book of answers, I don’t know how to fix it, but I do know how it feels to have it feel broken.” He speaks about writing for Marvel in the Miles Morales Spiderman series, writing villains, the theme of toughness and masks for his characters, and ultimately, about the presence of vulnerability in his work. Recorded October 9, 2018. For more information on HoCoPoLitSo’s live or recorded programs, or to support their production, visit www.hocopolitso.org.