The award-winning author, poet, educator, and producer Kwame Alexander is no stranger to innovation. Here, he discusses the unique elements that comprise his new memoir , the catharsis he found in recording the audiobook, and a few exciting projects on the horizon.
Audible: Your memoir includes poetry, letters, recipes, and more. Was there a poem or particular recipe you started with? How did you decide to include all of the different elements?
Kwame Alexander: Originally, this started as a collection of love poems, intended to be focused on romantic and familial themes. They were poems I’d hoped readers would find interesting and would resonate. But as I got into it, my editor noticed that much of it was reading chronologically, and suggested I add a few prose pieces to build the narrative. Then I started experimenting with other forms of writing, adding in recipes and letters, and we both saw the makings of a memoir taking shape—albeit an unconventional one. And that’s how this “new-fashioned” memoir was born.
You grapple with different forms of grief in Why Fathers Cry at Night. Creatively, where have you found the most catharsis?
We all have our own experiences with grief, and I can only speak to my own, of course, but for me, the level of intensity waxes and wanes. It never really leaves or ends, though—just takes on different shapes and forms. I’ve found a lot of catharsis in connection with others, including opening up and having conversations about those we grieve, sharing stories about their lives and what they meant to us. I’ve been listening to , which is a really incredible book by the creators of the Moth storytelling series. One part talks about stories that include the loss of a loved one, and after such a story, a seasoned Moth host invites everyone in the room to speak the name out loud of someone they have lost. The idea being as long as we’re still talking about them, we’re keeping them alive. Precious memories, ya know.
What was it like revisiting your memoir through the narration?
Well, speaking of catharsis, saying my words out loud was another level of emotional reckoning and release. I’ve narrated some of my books in the past, but it is a different experience when the words you are speaking out loud are words about your own life—not some character or world you’ve created in your head but getting real and getting vulnerable, and speaking to my own experiences. Fortunately, I had an excellent team working with me, including director Fleet Cooper and engineer Ryan Maher. The space they held for me and guidance they provided allowed me to put myself right back into the moment of a particular poem or recipe or prose piece, as though I were experiencing it right then and there. And in many ways, I was, as if it were the first time. My daughters are my two greatest loves of my life, and my biggest joy in being a father is being father. This book was intended to serve as a love letter to both of them. It’s the reason why one of the very first pieces in the book is written as a letter to my daughters. Daughters I cherish. Daughters I’ve also let down. I like to say I’m not a grown man but rather, I am a growing man, and that’s an ongoing journey that includes examining my mistakes and embracing my moments of failure. Exploring my moments of disappointment, with others but also with myself. All the painful but also necessary and beautiful parts that make us human. That gives us an opportunity to experience love, to learn from it. To believe in it. My joy comes from the hope that they will believe in it, too. We’re launching the podcast this summer, as a continuation of the themes introduced in the memoir, featuring conversations with an incredible roster of guests, exploring the lessons we’ve learned—and unlearned—and the ones we are still learning. I’m also working on book number two for series and serving as executive producer, co-creator, and host for a new reality show in the works, . We’re also cooking up ideas for season two of , coming out of the season one premiere on Disney+ in April. Oh my!
