Hip-hop saved me. It gave me permission to use language in a certain way. It validated my community and my friends. It gave our slang a certain elegance. — Jason Reynolds Copy Share Image
I wanted to be a poet. I fell in love with poetry around eight years old, but not through literature. Instead, it came through hip-hop lyrics and my obsession with reading liner notes. Queen Latifah's 'Black Reign' is the album… — Jason Reynolds Copy Share Image
“AND YOU KNOW it's weird to know a person you don't know and at the same time not know a person you know, you… — Jason Reynolds Copy Share Image
“And I'll never go asleep again believing that touching them or anything of his will lead to an arm around my neck. But it feels like an arm around my neck, wrenching, just thinking about how I'll never go to sleep again believing him or believing he will eventually come home, because he won't, and now I guess I should… — Jason Reynolds Copy Share
Be not afraid of discomfort. If you can't put yourself in a situation where you are uncomfortable, then you will never grow. You will… — Jason Reynolds Copy Share Image
The truth of the matter is that chess is not the game of life because life does not ever happen the way you strategize… — Jason Reynolds Copy Share Image
The idea of the mask in any scenario has always fascinated me. Not only does it protect identity, it also allows one to hide. — Jason Reynolds Copy Share Image
“AND EVEN THOUGH his face was wet with tears he wasn't supposed to cry when he was alive, I couldn't see him as anything… — Jason Reynolds Copy Share Image
Rappers are the white authors of our generation. They know me, my language, my codes, my family, my block. — Jason Reynolds Copy Share Image
“I SWEAR SOMETIMES it feels like God be flashing photos of his children, awkward, amazing, tucked in his wallet for the world to see.… — Jason Reynolds Copy Share Image
My relationship to comics isn't nearly as strong as some people's. Ha! I mean, I grew up with a comic book fanatic. My older… — Jason Reynolds Copy Share Image
“Shawn turned back toward me, eyes dull from death but shining from tears, finally spoke to me. Just two words, like a joke he'd… — Jason Reynolds Copy Share Image
I just want young people to read my books and feel cared for, feel safe, feel like there's someone else in the world who… — Jason Reynolds Copy Share Image
