"By The River" is brought to you in part by: the University of South Carolina Beaufort: learning in action, discovered, the ETV Endowment of South Carolina, Community Foundation of the Lowcountry: strengthening community, Osher: Lifelong Learning Institute at USCB, The Pat Conroy Literary Center.

Jeyda Bolukbasi is a self-taught writer and poet with a passion for birds and conservation.

Her debut novel "Tuah" was written at age 13 and published at age 14.

It follows an emperor goose on an adventure in the Alaskan Tundra.

I'm Holly Jackson.

Join us as we bring you powerful stories from both new and established Southern authors as we sit by the river.

♪ (gentle instrumental music) ♪ ♪ Hi there.

It's another beautiful day here at our waterfront studio.

Thanks so much for joining us here for "By The River".

I'm your host, Holly Jackson.

You know, "By The River" is our love letter to Southern writing and we are so excited to have authors from all across the Southeast, including right here in South Carolina, and today we have a very special one from our lowcountry region.

It is Jeyda Bolukbasi and she is the author of "Tuah".

Jeyda, thank you so much for joining us.

- Thank you for having me.

- This is definitely an exciting show, I think that our viewers will say, wow, she looks a little younger than normal.

So go ahead and tell us about how old you are.

This is really, to me the exciting part, because you wrote this book at a young age and just, incredible.

So go ahead and tell us a little bit about yourself first.

- So I'm 16.

I started writing "Tuah" when I was 13, I think, and finished when I was 14 and published it when I was 14.

Some of my hobbies are karate and bow-hunting.

I love doing those things.

It helps me clear my mind and relax.

I'm going into my junior year of high school whenever school starts back in August.

- Fascinating all around.

So many questions already, just off of that.

You're from right down the road in Walterboro, is where you live, Colleton county.

And this book is just beautiful.

- Tell us what is "Tuah" about.

- So, "Tuah" is about an emperor goose who grows up on the Alaskan Tundra.

He's the youngest of his clutch so he gets pushed around a little bit, but it makes him stronger.

And whenever the fall comes around and it's time to migrate, he is injured by an attack from an eagle when he was trying to save one of his friends, named Lexa.

And Lexa stays with him in the winter and grounds during fall and a little bit of the winter until he's able to recover and fly down to the site to the winter and grounds down south.

And that brings them closer together.

And it's just a story of how he discovers who he is and figures out how to recover from the things that pull him down and the things that hurt him.

- So a great storyline, but I'm also amazed at just how much you know about birds, so how much research went into this?

I understand you've kind of had this fascination and admiration yourself for birds for a long time.

- Oh, for a long time.

I can't remember when I first started like thinking about birds, I'd always be that weird kid at the zoo that would just stay around the birds.

I wouldn't go anywhere else.

I mean, nothing else interested me.

I researched about the emperor goose for about, I think a few months, I just wrote stuff down, took notes and the story of how I came to, to pick an emperor goose was my grandfather and I, we were driving past Walmart and there was a retaining pollen at the Walmart in Greenwood.

So then I saw emperor, I saw an emperor geese, Canadian geese down in the pond.

At the time I was looking for a new character for, for a new book.

And I decided that after thinking about it for awhile, that if I were to use a threatened or endangered species as my character, I could bring awareness to that species and help to, help with conservation efforts.

So I researched a species of geese.

I found the emperor goose.

I thought it was such a beautiful bird and they're in need of more conservation.

So I chose the emperor goose.

- Well, simply writing a book, which I shouldn't say simply because it's not simple.

That's a big task, especially for somebody at your age.

How did you present the idea to your family?

Were they all on board and then like, you know, how do you even go about starting with sentence number one?

- I think they knew for a long time that I was going to write books and poems.

I started writing when I was eight and all I wrote was short poems and short stories, just things that came to my mind.

I, it helped me learn how to formulate, you know, good sentences and make a good story.

So as I got older, I slowly started writing bigger paragraphs and bigger stories.

And when I was, I think 11, I wrote a short manuscripts and then it was never good enough to be published.

I don't think.

I probably, I should go back and look at it again.

And then after that, that helped me warm up to really understand how to begin a book, you know, how to, how to start the writing process.

And then I wrote "Tuah".

- What were the biggest challenges in that writing process?

- I think finding time, because, you know, with school that takes up six hours of my day and I get home and I'm tired.

So I think that was the biggest problem was just finding time.

But I mean, writing is so easy to me.

It just comes to me and it's, I could spend my whole life doing it.

I could just, I could write 24/7.

- That's awesome.

So it was, it, was it late nights?

Was it early mornings before school?

You're also doing karate, you're very active person.

So when did you find these pockets of time to do that?

- [Jeyda] So, it was really weekends and afterschool because, you know, school's six hours, I get home and I'm tired.

And if I still have the energy, I'll write some.

Usually around, I guess, after dinner, which is from six to midnight, I'll just sit at my computer and write.

And my, the way I like to write is I don't usually use pen and paper.

That's kind of old school to me, so I'll jot stuff down on my phone or my computer, and then I'll turn it and actually turning into, I'll turn into a story.

And so I write best at night because I'm more creative at night and I'm tired, and my thoughts just kind of flow.

I mean, it's, it's, there's not as many blockages as there are in the mornings when I first get up and I'm thinking logically, okay, I'm getting ready for school.

You know, I'm getting ready for my day.

- And you have to really have a lot of self-discipline, I imagined to write a book and to stay on track and everything so, - Not really.

- No?

- 'Cause I just, I'm like, I want to write, so I just sit down and I write.

I mean, it just comes so naturally to me.

- You don't have any goals or if I'm going to write 2000 words this week or this day or anything like that, you just write until you feel like.

- If I set goals, it's going to scare me.

I'm going to get all nervous and feel like I can't accomplish it.

So I just, whenever I feel like it's time to write, I go and I write, I push myself to write as long as I can.

And I just get down as much as I can that one time and work from there.

- Okay.

So you, you wrote the book then what?

do you hand it over to a certain family member to read?

Or who were the first eyes?

Who we're the first people who lay eyes on your texts?

- My mother, definitely.

She's the person that I can always trust to get me, you know, good, good reviews and tell me what she thinks about it and not be too soft or too hard.

And she's always the person I go to first and then, my grandparents and they'll read the books or poems or any kind of stories that I write, and then I'll send it to my editor and get it published.

- [Holly] Okay.

Talk about that publishing process and how, how this became about a book.

- [Jeyda] So I self-published to a through Mark Grant publishing.

It's I think it took about three months.

My dad helped me with that a lot.

He was the one who really helps to initiate it and get it going, get it published.

- [Holly] Okay, and you said that there's a story behind the cover.

- [Jeyda] The cover.

Yes.

So I love the cover.

It's so beautiful.

- [Holly] It is!

- Not just because it's beautiful and it represents a story well, because in, on the cover, you can see that the goose is immature, "Tuah", you know, the main character you can see from his neck feathers, that his plumage is not fully developed.

And that kind of shows that throughout the stories, he's always growing and evolving and changing and learning, and that represents the fact that everybody, no matter how old you are or how experienced you think you are in something, you're always learning and changing.

- What do you hope are the main takeaways that the readers get from reading "Tuah"?

- Definitely, family is most important thing in the world.

I mean, I couldn't have done any of this without my family.

And "Tuah" is the story of just, Emperor geese are very social beings, they live in flocks, they have big families, and that was the main, main takeaway is just to treasure your family and be thankful for them.

- Very good!

Let's talk about the birds and the interest in birds.

You do a lot of work with birds now, even at your young age, talk about your volunteer and involvement activities you have.

- [Jeyda] So I am the youngest volunteer at the Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw, South Carolina.

I started when I was 12 and it was just been the most amazing experience for me.

The people there, the volunteers and the staff members have been so supportive and kind to me.

And I just, I went and I did my internship.

I learned how to handle the birds of prey.

I learned how to feed them.

I prepare their food, how to learn about them so I could teach about them.

And it's just being around the animals is one of the best things.

I mean that I could spend my time doing.

I could stay there all day long just, and just look at them.

I mean, I love holding them and watching them and seeing the way they move and how they fly.

And they're just, it's so intriguing to me.

And I'm also one of my friends, Jill Midget, who volunteers with me at the center, she introduced me to the CBC, which is the Carolina Bird Club.

And they're a group that gets together once every season in either the Carolinas.

And we'll go around to different like birding spots, hot spots around there, and look for the most rare intriguing species we can find and just try to get down as many species of birds as possible.

And then the afternoons, we'll get together and have a guest speaker in the hotel, usually hotel.

And then we'll go over the species that we all found.

And it's just a great experience to be able to get to know other birders and learn about birds and just be outside in nature.

- [Holly] You know, I know a lot of people who have a particular interest in photographing birds.

Does that interest you at all?

- Yeah, it does.

I like it.

It's not my favorite part of it.

I mean, I could just, I can sit there and watch them all day.

I have to have a camera instead of binoculars though.

I mean, I get picked on about that sometimes.

It's like, "oh, funny how you brought this when you can just sit back and see through the binoculars."

But I'm like, I mean, if I'm looking at this bird, I want to save this.

I want to remember this.

You know, I don't want to ever forget this, like beautiful when the birds spread their wings, like this beautiful picture.

Like, why do I just want to watch that like fly away?

So, I'll photograph them occasionally.

- Now, re you big on bird feeders at home?

And that sort of thing too?

- I do.

Yeah.

We used to live out on a farm and I would be outside all day long just watching them.

And I had bird feeders out.

I got to the pond and just walk around and see them in the woods but now we live in towns.

I have few feeders out and I see birds every now and then.

- Very good.

You're still writing.

This is not the end.

This is just the beginning for you.

So tell me about, you know, during this time, whenever so many of us were home during quarantine, what were you doing and kind of, where were your thoughts going whenever it comes to writing?

- So I was finishing my manuscript, "The Phoenix".

I finished that in, I think, August, not April, sorry, April of this year.

And I spent most of that time during quarantine editing it and kind of it refining it and getting it better so I can send it to my editor and have her look over it as well.

- Yeah, and so the book is called "The Phoenix".

- [Jeyda] Yes Ma'am - tell us about, tell us what the book's about.

- So, "The Phoenix" is literally about a Phoenix who grows up in this beautiful, like mountain sanctuary called Valley.

And she lives there with her two parents.

And, whenever Phoenix, Phoenix reaches a certain age, they go and they're awarded their fire.

And so they can create fire.

So she goes and gets her fire that night, one night.

And when she returns back home, her parents have been killed by a rival group known as the Radicals and this sends her into a deep depression.

She lives alone in the mountains trying to figure out how to pick herself back up and rise from the ashes.

And she eventually gets the courage to leave.

So she heads down south and finds a new family who held, who takes her in and takes care of her.

And she eventually learns who her parents were and the part that they played in the war that happened before she was born, that split the two groups of Phoenix, Phoenix between the radicals and the pacifist.

So eventually it's just a story of how she discovers who she is and rises from the ashes.

- I'm just amazed.

I'm amazed at you.

(both laughing) at what you're doing at your age, it's just really incredible.

When it comes to "The Phoenix" again, talk about that storyline, are you writing it out like an outline or are you just getting in front of that computer and you just go.

- Well, I usually brainstorm for a while.

I'll just sit down, listen to music and just think and let things come to me.

Lots of times when I'm at school, when that happens.

And I shouldn't be brainstorming about things other than my work, but, sometimes, I mean, it just like, I want to figure out the story.

So I'll be bored in math class, and like, "All right, well, so what's, what's going to happen next to my book" and I'll jot down every now and then.

I can't use my phone in class so I have to go back to using pen and paper, which is slower, but it still works.

- Right.

- And I'll get those ideas and then I'll create an outline and, you know, I create a little outline for it.

And then eventually I just sit down and the words just come to me.

- Very cool.

You've talked about the importance of family.

I mean, that's really what this book is about here too.

Tell me about the people in your life who've really inspired you, whether it be teachers or family members, and just, you feel like, you've kind of gotten you to where you are.

- So definitely my mother, she's the first one that I would, that would talk about.

She's always been there for me, always been so supportive for me and I couldn't have done any of this without her.

Next, is my grandparents.

They have always, always been there for me also.

Always been supportive and I couldn't have done it without them either, - [Holly] which by the way, they're in the studio right now.

And granddad is, I said, he's basically your PR agent.

I mean, he's the one who, he's the, "By The River" fan who you got to here.

So we're really happy to have them here in the studio.

- And my teachers at CVA too.

I mean, they've been so kind to me.

- CPA being Cal academy.

- I'm just so used to calling a CPA, you know, it's a small town.

Everyone knows what it is.

- Right.

They've always been, they've been so amazing to me and the people at the Center for Birds of Prey, you know, they've, I've kind of grown up there.

I mean, they've been like my, kind of like my parents and aunts and uncles just been, just been-- - [Holly] That's the one in Awendaw, right?

- In Awendaw, yes.

- And how far is that from you?

- It's about, I think an hour from Walterboro.

My dad lives in Charleston, so I go and stay with him and I go, it's like 20 minutes from his house.

- [Holly] Perfect.

Yeah.

- And then also, Will Marvin, my karate teacher and he's been just such a great inspiration and teacher for me.

I couldn't have done it without him either.

- Let's, let's talk about karate.

It seems, you know, we've got birds, we've got karate, but how does, how does karate help you kind of be the person you are to?

- So, karate helps me not only become stronger, but it helps me learn how to calm my mind and how to quiet my mind and put my focus into one specific thing, which is kind of hard to do for me, because my thoughts are always just like whirling around, always thinking about something and always planning something or worrying about something.

And, karate teaches me to quiet.

We can be quiet and focus and put all my thoughts into one specific thing.

- Very cool.

And you've gotten pretty far in karate.

- Yes, I earned my senpai strip this Tuesday.

- That means that you are, - That means I'm an assistant teacher.

I'm a second, to a second stripe brown belt and the next step is black belt.

- That's a pretty big deal.

That's awesome.

That's awesome.

- [Jeyda] Thank you.

- Okay, let's talk about you in the future.

You are, whenever I got your bio, I was just blown away.

I'm telling my family about this.

I'm like, y'all, this is who I'm interviewing today and listen to what she has already got mapped out for her life.

It's incredible.

You already know what you want to be when you grow up, how you want to make it happen, talk about it.

- So my first goal is to go to Clemson University and get my bachelor's degree there.

That's just my, that's my, always been kinda my, my first step kind of thing.

And the next step is I want to go to Cornell university if I can and get my Master's and PhD there.

And hopefully even get a job at the Cornell lab.

Being an ornithologist.

I also want to be a professional author, which I mean, I got, I achieved being author few years ago, which was my first really big goal, but I want to be professional at it and do it as a, do it for my life.

And I also love art.

And so hopefully I can paint as a hobby, aside from being author and ornithologist.

- We haven't even touched the art part.

So tell me about that.

What kind of, what do you, what kind of art do you do and what pictures do you create?

- So I used to just sketch and draw, but now I love acrylic.

Acrylic is my favorite.

I love painting birds.

Birds that I see and birds that I take pictures of.

And I just, I love it because it also quiets my mind so that I could focus on something and it really helps me kind of pertain my peace and keep myself, keep myself, you know, focused on something other than worrying about things.

- [Holly] Very cool.

There's also poetry.

We've kind of touched on that a few times, but that began early on.

I think your granddad was showing me one that you wrote in first or second grade.

So, I mean, when did it really start that?

I feel like you basically learned to read and then you're writing creatively.

It's incredible.

Tell me when this all began.

- I have no idea.

I mean, I've just been doing it my whole life It's like I was born, like I came out writing, I mean.

(both laughing) I started writing when I was maybe 6, 7, 8.

I don't even know, I just writing short stories.

My family and friends they'd give me like for Christmas and birthdays, little journals, and I would write things in them, whatever just, whatever came to my mind.

And I eventually had my first poem published in a celebration of poets in 2013.

- And are you a journaler now?

As far as basically, you know, whenever you're a kid, this is what I did today, type thing, or no?

- Yes.

I love journaling about my life, just having, just a private journal to write about things aside from writing and publishing my books and poems.

- It's always interesting to look back upon, I believe because you know what seemed like such a big deal.

It's like, oh, that happened.

You realize later that it's just little stuff and it seems so big.

(Holly laughing) So in terms of your poetry, is that also kind of focused on the same things as your books are?

Or do you tend to write about, write your poetry about birds too?

- Sometimes most of the time, it's just things come to my minds, things I saw, like the other way the ocean looks today or a bird I saw the other day.

I'll write things about that.

I'll think about little stories that have to go along with it, like, "oh, wow!

The ocean's so pretty today", you know, maybe, maybe there's a little, like a dolphin that jumped up and there's a story I could write about that and turn it into a poem.

So it's usually just small things to come to my mind.

- Do you ever find that where you are influences how you write?

Like you said that you kind of have, just because the age you are, you have this, you know, certain times where you're at school, you come home and you're writing more the evening, but maybe during the weekends, do you ever take your laptop outside or, you know, somewhere else and you find that it might influence how you write at all?

- Yes.

I've tried that.

Took my computer outside and I just was able to be in the environment more.

And it's so much easier to describe something if you're actually there, and South Carolina, it just, the way the state is, I love how you have the mountains up in the north.

And then the ocean down in the south, most states don't have that.

And it helped me to create the background for "Tuah", you know, the environment, the way it looks.

And also for "The Phoenix", just having the mountains, being able to go up there and visit.

I love Saluda, North Carolina.

That's one of my favorite places to go.

I love being able to see the mountains and just feel the air.

And then also being able to go down to the beach and see the way the ocean's rolling today and the way it's moving and just, and be able to use those in my writing.

- Throughout this experience.

Talk about the people you've met.

I'm sure along this journey of writing and publishing and volunteering, you've met some really neat people.

Have you, have you made some great friendships along the way?

- I have.

Yeah.

I become closer to my family, definitely.

Will Marvin, my sensei, he's definitely, really helped me out a lot.

And my friend, Jill midget too, she was one of the volunteers of the center with me.

And she's helped me.

Really helped me to get to know, getting to know myself better.

Not only, you know, become smarter, you know, when it comes to birds and volunteering, but also get to know myself.

- Very good.

All right.

Well, this has just really been incredible.

And can you believe that we're almost done with this interview already?

Fast, right?

Is there anything else that you wanted to add?

I mean, you have the whole state of South Carolina, watching if you'd like, so what would you like to say to the audience?

Anything?

- So I want to say to younger people and not only young people, but I mean, anyone at any age, if you have an idea or a dream about something, just go for it.

I mean, don't be afraid of anything standing in your way.

Don't let anything stand in your way.

If I would have believed that I couldn't publish a book or I couldn't get the brown belt in karate, then I would've been able to do it.

I had to believe that I could do it.

And I had to have faith in myself.

So don't let anything stand in your way and achieve your dreams no matter what comes.

- Very good.

Hey, I really believe your own to something big.

And I'm going to be able to say I interviewed her whenever she was 16 years old.

So really a pleasure to meet you and, - [Jeyda] It's great to meet you too!

- Good luck.

I know you're off to huge, big things.

I'm excited about it.

Everybody, thank you for watching and I know that this was quite a special interview that I certainly enjoyed.

We're going to leave you now with a look at our lowcountry poets corner.

Thanks so much for watching "By The River".

I'm your host, Holly Jackson, and we'll see you next time, by the river.

♪ (upbeat music) ♪ ♪ - The dark night of my soul.

I wish you could see the dark night of my soul, not the night flowers and nocturnal bees, not the beautiful moon or the golden owl, the demons and fog and the bleeding trees.

I wish you could feel pain in my heart.

That's enough to make one real.

That is enough to make one beg to depart from a world that none can fully heal.

I wish you could know how hard it is to carry on through the freezing rivers that quickly flow through the grassy blades that rest upon the dried roots that lay below.

You might never comprehend the world that I stumble and crawl through.

But if you will just smile that lovely smile.

I think I'll survive the night.

♪ There was no light that entered only sound of cool air.

I gratefully inhale my first breaths of the outside world, suddenly it wasn't enough.

I've forgotten about the safety and warmth for the home I love.

All I wanted was fresh air, sounds and sights, curiosity, and instinct fueled by exhausting fight for freedom.

I pack more and push blindly trusting my instincts and stretching out little by little until I finally was outside of my home, how much was different.

It was dark and warm.

Only I felt like I had just come to the surface of the ocean at night, after living underwater for a year, then realization hit me.

My first home was the eggshell and I was a chick that just hatched.

Unexpectedly, I became very fatigued from my fight to exit the eggshell.

I snuggled in next to some fluffy things in a dark place I lived and peacefully fell asleep.

♪ "By The River" is brought to you in part by the University of South Carolina, Beaufort: learning in action discovered, the ETV Endowment of South Carolina, Community Foundation Of The Lowcountry: strengthening community, Osher, lifelong learning Institute at USCB, The Pat Conroy Literary Center.