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You may be asking yourself, “Who is Kwame Alexander?”
It’s a good question, and it’s a little bit tough to answer. Alexander is not terribly forthcoming about his past and his personal life. Here’s a few things we know about this somewhat enigmatic author:
He was born in Manhattan, New York, but he is reluctant to reveal the year (and thus, his age); he moved a lot as a kid, attending 13 different schools while growing up; he’s from a family of artists, with parents who were writers, sisters who are involved in writing, modelling, and photography, and a brother who’s “in music and entertainment” (“Questions and Answers with Kwame Alexander” http://kwamealexander.com/about/me/c/199).
He has been heavily involved in promoting reading and education, both as an author and through the creation of curriculum and professional books; and he “served as Bank Street College of Education’s inaugural Dorothy M. Carter Writer in Residence” (“Kwame Alexander” https://aalbc.com/authors/author.php?author_name=Kwame+Alexander). Reading and writing are clearly important cornerstones for Alexander, and he goes to great lengths to promote both of them.
When he was only twelve, his father, the headmaster of his school, brought young Kwame on a march against police brutality in New York City; even at that early age, Alexander claims, he knew this was an important cause, and it is one he has continued to champion, becoming a vocal and active proponent for civil rights; he has given talks about the importance of being open to saying “Yes” when given opportunities in life, even if those opportunities scare you - and then backing up that “yes” with a lot of hard work (“The Power of Yes | Kwame Alexander | TEDxHerndon” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkTn3l2FnIY).
One part of that hard work has been travelling from his home in the Washington, D.C. area to visit schools, libraries, and bookstores around the country to speak with students about his work and to give workshops on writing and publishing (“Indigo Blume and the Garden City | About the Author” https://www.amazon.com/Indigo-Blume-Garden-Kwame-Alexander/dp/149934614X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8).
Another part of that hard work has been creating a literacy project to help children internationally, the LEAP for Ghana project, that “builds libraries, trains teachers, and empowers children through literature” (“Kwame Alexander” https://aalbc.com/authors/author.php?author_name=Kwame+Alexander).
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