Not sure why that stuck, but… it’s telling.
JASON GRIFFIN:I loved reading about fun facts.
I could kick off the book to a random page and learn something quick.
Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin’s latest collaboration is the book ‘Ain’t Burned all the Bright’.Credit: Dayo Kosoko; Simon and Schuster
To this day I prefer nonfiction.
Books rarely do it, but television or movies or even some commercials break me down.
GRIFFIN:Reynolds, your honesty is inspiring.
And because holding in feelings, pushing them down, isn’t healthy.
I literally feel my throat closing up as a defense mechanism to restrain crying.
But if I can be honest, I get choked up all the time, like Reynolds.
“Don’t cry.
It’s just a TV show.
It’s just a movie.”
Maybe I should have.
The first album I bought with my own money
REYNOLDS:Queen Latifah’sBlack Reign.
GRIFFIN:Vanilla Ice,To the Extreme.
I saw this white guy on TV that could dance I think it was onShowtime at the Apollo?
The last concert I attended
REYNOLDS:Sheesh.
It’s been a while.
GRIFFIN:I love this question.
Because to me those things are very different.
Watchability for me normally contains an element of comedy, and it changes over the years.
One that stands the test of time for me isThe Big Lebowski, by the Coen Brothers.
The last thing that made me laugh out loud
REYNOLDS:Probably the showSouth Side.
Honestly, I just love seeing Black people on TV being silly… for Black people.
That’s howSouth Sidefeels to me.
And I like that.
Oh, also, I loveMichael Che’s work.
Thanks, wifey, for putting me onto it!
Books that, to me, have it all in one stop.
There are MANY more, but this is a start.
We didn’t even get into all the reference books and dictionaries!
GRIFFIN:As an artist, maybe I can say books that have helped inform my creative practice.
The last TV show I binged
REYNOLDS:I think it wasSchool of Chocolateon Netflix.
It’s all mind-blowing to me.
I think it’s because I’m obsessed with process.
GRIFFIN:The Great.
Incredible period piece that is able to still feel modern in many ways.
The writing, the acting, the nuggets of wisdom, all superbly executed and worth watching.
The writer I wish more people knew about
REYNOLDS:Oooooh.
Zora Neale Hurston (I know we all know her but her SHORT STORIES!)
and, in America, Ali Smith.
I think she’s just an incredible risk-taker.
And I love some of the wonky things she does with language.
GRIFFIN:James Baldwin.
It’s a beautiful and much-needed reminder of this precious, precious planet.
