The first was this On Being conversation with author Jason Reynolds, from 2020. Much of Reynolds’ work revolves around, as he puts it, trying to “activate” the imaginations of young people. Here’s part of what he said: “How does one keep an imagination fresh in a world that works double-time to suck it away? … I think that the answer is, one must live a curious life. One must have stacks and stacks and stacks of books on the inside of their bodies. And those books don’t have to be the things that you’ve read. I mean, that’s good, too, but those books could be the conversations that you’ve had with your friends that are unlike the conversations you were having last week.” Clearly I love every word of that, but I’m particularly smitten with his way of thinking about “books” — and including conversations you have that are unlike the ones you had last week. I like recognizing that value.
