- Today on extra credit, we Jabber walk with a famous poet, learn about storytelling, and meet some cool writers.

Stay right there.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) Welcome to Extra Credit where we meet interesting people, explore new ideas, and discover fun places together.

I'm your host, Yash.

And today we're focusing on writing and storytelling.

First, let's hear why kids should write more stories.

(upbeat music) - I'm not sure if I decided to become a storyteller or it kind of chose me.

I've been writing poetry since I was in 10th grade.

And for me, the way it started is, it was a creative outlet.

There was a lot going on politically.

There was a war about to be waged on Afghanistan.

And I had all of these frustrations and I didn't feel like I could talk about these things with my peers.

And so poetry became my outlet.

It became the way in which I was channeling all of this anger and frustration that I had onto a platform that allowed me to kind of release and also be positive and, and a little bit more at peace with the world.

So that's how it started.

And of course it continued.

And my engagement with poetry, waxed and waned, like I write a lot sometimes.

And there were times when I didn't write at all, but it continued with me.

Like it was something that was constantly my companion over the years.

And when I left work, I realized in order to be sane, in order to be happy, in order to be whole, I have to also feed this creative part of me.

I have to feed my creativity.

And so I realized because I had a passion for poetry, but also for photography and short stories or literature, generally, I realized that's what I was.

I was a storyteller And not only telling stories in the written form, but also visually.

So I, it kind of was a realization that this is who I was, and, and this is who I'm growing into.

And this is the kind of skill set that I want to work towards and build on and hone in on.

(upbeat music) (calming music) (calming music) (calming music) (calming music) (calming music) (calming music) (calming music) (calming music) (calming music) (calming music) (calming music) (calming music) (calming music) (calming music) - (Ruben) Get to work.

First thing I do is turn on my email.

And I discovered this one.

I didn't know who it was from.

- (Rachel) My coworker sent you that email by mistake.

- (Ruben) And I was like, here's another RP Salazar.

Imagine that.

And so I forwarded it.

I wrote a little message.

Hi, Rachel.

It seems as if this message came to me, instead of you, I'm in Waco, Texas USA.

Have a great day.

P.S.

How's the weather there in Bangkok?

- (Rachel) I replied to you.

Weather in Bangkok is lovely.

Gracias, Rachel.

- (Ruben) So began a chain of emails.

- (Rachel) The first couple of emails you started describing yourself.

And that's kind of encouraged me to be open about myself, too.

- (Ruben) I was excited that this person is halfway around the world.

It's kind of like sending a letter in a bottle.

I happened to hover my mouse over your name on one of those emails and a picture of you popped up.

I was like, wow, she's really beautiful.

How can I make this picture bigger?

I would stay up late at night, which was your morning.

And we would chat for like four or five hours.

- (Rachel) You had started to play an important role in my life.

Even before I consciously realized it.

I knew that I was falling in love, but there's still that tiny little bit of doubt that this might not work because we're 8,000 miles away from each other.

But at some point I finalized my plans to visit the U S. - (Ruben) And you didn't tell anyone.

- (Rachel) Because everyone would tell me you're foolish to go halfway across the world to meet some strange guy you have not met.

That would be crazy!

- (Ruben) And on my end, every relative, every friend, coworker, everyone knew.

- (Rachel) We were together for eight days - (Ruben) We were dancing one night.

And you mentioned something to the fact that.

- (Rachel) I said that you were the sweetest guy I've ever met.

- (Ruben) I knew right at that moment, I need to say something or do something so that I don't lose her.

And so I got on my knee and asked you to marry me.

- (Rachel) Deep in my heart, I knew it was coming and it was the right thing.

And it was the best thing.

- (Ruben) People didn't believe me, when I told them I proposed to Rachel, some of them had second thoughts for me followed by five minutes of laughter.

- (Rachel) They now all tell us you're perfect for each other you found the right match.

(happy music) (happy music) (happy music) (happy music) (happy music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Everything is poetry in a way, when I was outside of the program, I would see like videos on YouTube.

And it's like, oh, I want to write like that.

Then you get into the work and you start to understand that, like, anything can be a poem It's just, like, the way you use your words.

Writing has become a healing process because my grandma passed.

And I was in this really weird space.

Cause I was just like, you know, you're sad, right?

But it's like outside of that, what are you feeling?

And through writing, like there's a guy that works in Inside Out, gave me this writing prompt and I'm like, this is not going to do nothing.

And I ended up doing it and it's just like, it was like a weight lifted off of me outside of being expressive, it's therapeutic.

Like obviously those things I wrote were isn't something I would put on the stage, but for me.

It was something for me.

And I fell in love with the writing.

And it was just like kind of hard for me because I was the only one doing it.

You know, you don't really have like peers that are doing it.

Then I found like the library site, Citywide Poets after school.

And it was just like, I found kids there that I could relate to.

And there's this space through and through.

It's just awesome for me.

I can take my personality and put it on a stage and be unapologetic.

And for me, like learning that I don't have to like not completely be myself at all times.

It was a really big thing.

And I learned that through Inside Out.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) - I'm inspired by my niece who is very curious and loves stories.

So, she's had books since she was probably under one and every time I see her, her one of her constant questions is Nebu, tell me a story, you know, tell me a story.

And of course she doesn't necessarily want to hear the same story over and over.

So, I have to create stories and imagine stories and, and tap into the stories of my childhood and stories I've been told and change them around to make them exciting.

And sometimes I ask her for stories and her and her sister are incredible storytellers as well.

They, they have a wild imagination.

They have the intonation for it.

And you know, I, they inspire me.

And I remember hearing stories from my childhood and there are stories that have stuck.

And even now I am really intrigued by stories.

I want people to tell me stories.

I, I sit with my grandmother and ask her questions and tell her, tell me the story of how my mother was born.

Tell me the story of how you got married.

And so those inspire me.

I'm inspired by both spectrums.

I think stories also allow us to understand the other and be more compassionate towards each other and be, be kinder and see the beauty of the world.

But also the other thing about stories is I think things are disappearing.

I think our age is everything's about now, now, now, and we have content that disappears, you know, after a few seconds or after 24 hours and things don't seem to last.

So I like this idea of almost etching our existence into the sand or, or not even to the sand, into stone, so that it just doesn't disappear with the waves that it's, it's there for generations to come.

Almost like when our ancestors drew on the caves, you know, they it's, it's stories.

They've been leaving stories behind for us.

And, and it's almost saying I was here.

You know, I was here, I existed.

So I think it's really, really important for us to leave stories behind for the generations that come for posterity, for our kids and our, and our kids' kids and to assert our existence, to say we were here.

(upbeat music) (chalk writing on board) - Hey, everyone, it's time for our impact at home minute of movement.

For this minute of movement, we're going to be doing mountain climbers.

So, to get started, you're going to put your hands on the floor, make sure they're directly below your shoulders.

One leg in front, one leg in the bottom.

When you're ready, you're going to jump and switch legs.

So ready, set, go.

So you're jumping back and forth just like this.

Get your knees up As high as you can.

Do your best to keep your hips low.

We don't want your behind sticking out.

If this is too hard for you, you can modify it by just walking.

So let's get back to that challenging version.

Keep going for 3, 2, 1.

Nice job.

Take a breath.

All right.

We're finished.

Thanks for taking part of this impact at home minute of movement.

(upbeat music) - So to start, why did you first write, Find Where the Wind Goes back in 2001?

And why did you decide to revisit it and rerelease it now?

- So I wrote Find Where the Wind Goes and it was focused toward my 16 year old self.

What I would tell my 16 year old self about my life and also how it might have impacted, you know, the, the journeys that I took.

One of the things that, that really motivated me to do this was that friends of mine would see narratives about me, where people made stuff up.

And it was always, of course, that she was this child that always did what her parents told her to do.

And she studied well and she was not rebellious at all.

And they would look at this, That's, we don't know who this person is.

And so I thought it was really important for me to tell the stories about how I, you know, just some tidbits of stories about how I came to be.

So these moments are ones that hit toward the future, that tell a story about who I intended to be, who I knew I wanted to be, which wasn't necessarily a job, but rather the type of person I wanted to be.

And I thought it would be as important to, to do that.

Why am I re-releasing it now?

Well, first of all, it's an update.

It's a true second edition.

So it's, it has additional content, right?

So we have new content.

It also has completely new images.

And in fact, the photographs that were in the previous book, they're not there.

We actually have illustrations that I helped an artist to, conceive some of the events that I talked about because you don't always have that picture of you doing something that was really memorable, that changed your world, but it was that reason.

And then finally, today, as I look around, a lot of what's happening is very similar to what I had to deal with and digest as I was growing up as a teenager.

And what do I mean by that?

So, I was right in the middle of the civil rights movements in the sixties.

There was also space exploration was exploding in the sense of, there was so many things that were happening.

Science, technology, engineering was right at the forefront of things.

We had a new, a really great connection and engagement with fantasy and different kinds of science fiction and media.

And at the same time, everyone was declaring their right to participate.

If you look to where we are today, space has a new resurgence, it seems like.

There's also the whole issue around diversity and inclusion.

Who gets to make the decisions, right?

Who do you get to be?

as well as this whole connection with the world.

And then when we look at the pandemic, this connection with the world is about what should our society be in the future and who gets to make that determination.

And so I thought that it would be helpful to bring those back to, to, to bring that back to the forefront, because it's very much like what was happening in the sixties.

And it was very much, again, some of those decisions, those things that I had to deal with as a teenager.

- I wanted to ask, you know, from an early age, you seem really determined to be a scientist.

Even, I think there's a story in the book about you as a kindergartner.

I have a four year old.

So I, I was thinking just of a little Mae standing up to her, you know, her kindergarten teacher, I wanted to see if you would mind sharing that memory with the audience.

What happened?

- Well, so one of the things, first thing I'll tell you is I chose my parents well.

I don't know how I did it, but I, I chose them well, and I was the third of three children all of who, my brother and sister, very bright.

So coming up, I had to like make my way, but I don't remember when I knew that I liked science.

I just remember helping my brothers and sisters with- my brother and sister with their science projects.

And so in kindergarten, when your teacher has asked you, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Of course, I was that kid with my hands up in the air.

And as she called on the other children, they said, policeman, even fireman, teacher.

When she finally got to me, I said, I want to be a scientist.

And she said, don't you mean a nurse?

Now, there's nothing wrong with being a nurse.

But for me, I took offense because it felt like to me, she didn't believe that I could be a scientist or that I even knew what a scientist was.

So being the child, I was, I just put my hands on my hips and I said, no, I meant a scientist.

And I was really quite irritated with her.

I know now that she was trying to help me choose a career that she believed as a young black girl growing up on the south side of Chicago in the 1960s, that this was a career that I could aspire to or accomplish, but that's not who I intended to be.

And- - Well, so as a backup, like very quick, and then, you know, what advice do you have to a young girl coming up now, who's kind of told all oh well, meaning you don't mean that, do you?

I mean, What advice do you have for them about following their big dreams?

And I know that's a big question, but.

- Well, I think it's the same advice that I give to anyone, right?

Which is, it's about really understanding who you intend to be, Who you intend to be isn't always a job.

Sometimes it's the, the traits you want to embody.

So when I think about it, I wanted to be creative.

I wanted to be able to explore many things around the world.

I wanted to make a difference in life.

I wanted to constantly be engaged and challenged myself.

What do I tell folks?

I think it's the more you show them, right?

Which is also part of the reason that I wrote the book is to sort of show these experiences, but it's really to understand that you have a right to be involved.

Then when people use the term and they say, we need to empower people, we hold a lot of power ourselves and every day, people give it away.

To be empowered, to me, means that you have to recognize and do three things.

The first is to recognize you have a right to participate.

You have a right to be in this universe.

You have a right to participate in what the society becomes, what the world becomes.

You have to believe that, and you have to own that.

Secondly, you have to understand, believe that you have something to contribute.

If you don't believe you have something to contribute, then you'll just sit on the sidelines, but understand you have something to contribute.

And the final piece is to risk making that contribution.

So many times we're afraid that people may laugh at us.

When we fail but you have to risk making that contribution.

And that's how you empower yourself.

And in many ways, you can accomplish things that you didn't know you could, or that others didn't know you could.

(upbeat music) - I do a lot of things, but I think everything can almost be summed up by storyteller.

So I'm very interested in poetry, also photography and short story writing on the side.

I'm a freelance consultant.

When you're telling stories, think about what it is that you want to get across.

What is the point of the story?

Does it have a beginning that draws in the person who's listening to it?

Does it have a middle that kind of links the beginning to the end?

And does it have a way to end the story?

And the ending doesn't have to be a finale or an explanation, but it's, it's something that leaves the person listening to you with something to think about.

Be yourself, understand who you are, be willing to learn, grow, uncover, discover, be curious, love life, live life, breathe beauty, and enjoy it while you're at it.

(upbeat music) - Hey everybody, I'm Dave Pilkey.

The author and illustrator of Dogman and Captain Underpants.

Inspiration can come from many different places.

When I was a kid, my mom would take me to the library and I would pick out whatever books I wanted to read.

That's how I came to associate reading with love.

One of the places I love to visit is the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

It's the largest library in the world and has some of the biggest collections of the coolest stuff you can find anywhere.

And you can visit it right now, right there, where you're sitting.

Check it out and be inspired.

And remember to always be creative.

I'm going to talk to you about Jabber Walking.

It's a brand new book I just put out.

You know, it, all, it all comes from I wanted to write a book where I could teach others how to write the way I write.

And I figured, well, you know, I do very basic things.

For me, very basic.

I scribble, I walk and write.

I'm very visual.

I use giant sheets of paper, little tiny sheets of paper.

The pens are big and crayons.

They feel excellent in my hands.

The newspapers are exciting because there's things on the newspapers.

Then I use fountain pens, Japanese quills an assortment of colors.

The Jabberwock with eyes of flame is whiffling through the tulgey wood and it's burbling as it's moving through it.

Cause then the writer has eyes of flame as it moves through her environment and burbles in that human movement, which is expressing ourselves, which is writing.

So Jabberwocker is always moving.

Is always noticing, is always observing.

And it's always participating in the larger group.

(light jazz music) So we got the open space on the top floor and all the beauty, sculptures, marble different kinds of marble, mythological figures, names of disciplines, philosophy, art, Jefferson's library.

So much detail, so much knowledge, so much taking in for the Jabber Walker.

And then we went downstairs to the tunnels.

They just had things and pipes and maybe two or three colors.

So I thought that was an amazing contrast.

Went from scribbles doodles, walking, moving, screaming, experimenting to an amazing experience and collection of material.

And then it morphed into a mural and a mosaic.

And that's the beauty of Jabber walking that you can go through an alley or a street that you go through every day.

And maybe you notice something, maybe you don't, but for the Jabber Walker, you notice things that maybe you hadn't noticed before.

And that's what poetry is.

- Darker, darker, brighter, brighter, some sense of things getting lighter, flowing pipes, dirty stairwell cellar deep, chairs all stacked lighthouse lights door to the end.

(applause) - So I encourage you to be professional Jabber walkers, moving, being creative, taking in what's going on pipes and birds and trees and bark and little dogs and a baby crying and a baby laughing.

And the leaf falling down slowly in front of you and a feather floating by and you're going to go, Oh, I can't believe it.

That feather was amazing.

I never really noticed that feather.

I want to write a poem about it.

And then you do that.

That's Jabber walking.

Full of inspiration, just like you.

(upbeat music) - 365, I write rhymes.

365, I craft lines.

It could be on page or in mind Words used to capture moments in time.

A sucker for words, a poetry nerd.

All through my city, there's poetry read, poetry written and poetry heard.

It's gon be a poetic her going to create a flock, language uplifted like birds.

Poets to be writing a fly, performing the soar.

We do it all from our core.

And I kid you not this poetry might've ate your block.

Whether they like it, or not, billboards and murals, screens and marquees, You might see it painting those streets.

I'm so grateful for words, going to be some poetry nerds, all in my city, poetry read, poetry written, and poetry heard.

Hear it, write it, read if you choose.

Whatever you do, I hope you find a poet in you.

That would be cool.

If you found a poet in you.

(upbeat music) - I'm a full-time poet and playwright, multimedia artist.

And I'm a producer.

I produce a really large concert called Black Women Rock.

I've been producing that since 2004.

- Write from your heart and tell the truth.

That's the first thing.

And then you have to read.

And you have to read people outside of yourself.

You have to be every writer you can get your hands on.

You have to read fiction, read non-fiction, read memoir, read the newspaper, magazines, You have to read in order to be a good writer.

In order to write a good poem, a poem that hasn't been written like any other poem has ever been written, because you're always trying to outdo yourself.

You have to find a way to get an audience to the place where you were when you were simply writing it.

And that is the struggle, is to get people to feel how you felt when you wrote the poem, because you felt something strong when you actually wrote it.

And now you're saying it.

So you need to find a way to bring them back to that space.

And that's also about being honest.

You know, if the poem makes you cry, you should cry.

If it's funny, then you should laugh.

You know, if it's, if it makes you feel good, I need to feel that.

- Thanks for joining me today.

I had such a great time learning about storytelling.

What fun ideas do you have for a story?

Why don't you grab a notebook and start writing it?

Visit our website for more tips on writing.

See you next time.

- This program is made possible in part by Michigan Department of Education, the state of Michigan, and by viewers like you.

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