His Words Dance on the Page

Ummm, he thought, she’s beautiful. Pulchritudinous, even.

 

What to do?

 

 

So he did. It was entitled “Southern Love Song.”

 

She’s from Louisiana, you see.

 

Her name is Stephanie.

 

She’s now his wife.

 

And he, from that humble beginning, has become a writer and poet, and a really good one at that.

 

In fact, his book The Crossover, one of 18 he’s penned, is the 2015 recipient of the Newbery Medal recognizing the year’s “most distinguished contribution to American literature for children” as well as the Coretta Scott King Award Honor.

 

Alexander told that story and a host of others during a fast-paced, compelling presentation today before an assembly of Collegiate’s Middle School students and faculty, most of whom have read and studied his heralded novel which he actually wrote in verse.

 

It’s the story of Josh (nickname Filthy McNasty) and Jordan (JB) Bell, 12-year-old twin sons of a former professional basketball player (Chuck) and the assistant principal (Crystal) at the boys’ Reggie Lewis Junior High. The brothers are close and share many interests, including their love of basketball. Then, a series of events, including Jordan’s romance with Alexis (Miss Sweet Tea), whom Alexander describes as “pulchritudinous,” drives a wedge between them.

 

Just as they’re reconciling their differences, their father (“Da Man” from his playing days) suffers a health crisis created by his genetic predisposition to hypertension, poor eating habits, and refusal to listen to the warning signs and subsequently passes away.

 

During his presentation, Alexander spoke passionately and earnestly about his work, fielded questions, and delivered nuggets of wisdom. All the while, his friend Randy Preston, an English teacher and musician, accompanied him on his guitar.

 

A Chesapeake native and graduate of Great Bridge High School and Virginia Tech, Alexander talked – often in a self-deprecating manner – about the evolution of The Crossover, his numerous rejection notices, his multiple rewrites, and his motivation to stay with his project until he decided to self-publish.

 

“Don’t let ‘no’ define who you are!” he said (punctuation intended). “The ‘no’s’ will come, but when they’re tired and exhausted, the ‘yes’ will come. All you need is one.”

 

Alexander is 6-4, so the assumption – considering the basketball motif in The Crossover – is that he was a pretty good player back in the day.

 

Not so, he readily admits. Tennis was his game.

 

“I played basketball in 8^th grade,” he said, “but I wasn’t that good. My father was a star. I tried to shoot from half court, and the ball hit the scoreboard. I got benched. That was the last I played on a team, but I loved basketball and played a lot on the playground.”

 

Another assumption is that the story of Josh and JB, their love of hoops, and their adolescent angst is based on his own life and experience.

 

Also not so.

 

“Made it all up,” he said. “Out of my head. All fiction.”

 

Alexander laces his novel, which includes much hoops jargon and trash talk and flows with a spirited, rhythmic cadence, with 10 “Basketball Rules.” All relate to life more than the game. They speak to the importance of family, preparation, goal-setting, playing through to the final buzzer, teamwork, focus, handling pressure, and weathering the storm when adversity hits.

 

As he autographed literally hundreds of books afterwards, Alexander fielded questions about his career, his inspiration, and his philosophy of putting his heart and soul onto the page in verse.

 

 

 

Rite of passage is a pretty good adolescent literature theme? Was that part of your thinking?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                        -- Weldon Bradshaw