[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.91,0:00:06.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to talk today\Nabout how reading can change our lives,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.40,0:00:08.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and about the limits of that change.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.74,0:00:14.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to talk to you about how reading\Ncan give us a shareable world
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.05,0:00:16.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of powerful, human connection.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.85,0:00:21.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But also about how that connection\Nis always partial.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.41,0:00:26.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How reading is ultimately a lonely,\Nidiosyncratic undertaking.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.62,0:00:30.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The writer who changed my life
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.49,0:00:34.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was the great African American\Nnovelist James Baldwin.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.97,0:00:38.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I was growing up\Nin Western Michigan in the 1980s,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.25,0:00:42.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there weren't many Asian American writers\Ninterested in social change.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.29,0:00:46.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I think I turned to James Baldwin
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.52,0:00:50.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a way to fill this void,\Nas a way to feel racially conscious.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.94,0:00:55.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But perhaps because I knew\NI wasn't myself African American,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.95,0:01:00.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I also felt challenged\Nand indicted by his words.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.50,0:01:02.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Especially these words:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.44,0:01:07.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"There are liberals who have\Nall the proper attitudes,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.07,0:01:09.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but no real convictions.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.10,0:01:14.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When the chips are down\Nand you somehow expect them to deliver
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.06,0:01:15.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they are somehow not there."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.54,0:01:18.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are somehow not there.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.37,0:01:21.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I took those words very literally.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.73,0:01:23.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Where should I put myself?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.49,0:01:26.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I went to the Mississippi Delta,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.53,0:01:29.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of the poorest regions\Nin the United States.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.72,0:01:32.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a place shaped\Nby a powerful history.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.61,0:01:37.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the 1960s, African Americans\Nrisked their lives to fight for education,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.80,0:01:39.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to fight for the right to vote.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.61,0:01:43.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wanted to be a part of that change
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.07,0:01:46.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to help young teenagers graduate\Nand go to college.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.24,0:01:50.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I got to the Mississippi Delta,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.01,0:01:53.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was a place that was still poor,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.47,0:01:55.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,still segregated,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.23,0:01:57.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,still dramatically in need of change.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.94,0:02:02.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My school, where I was placed,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.41,0:02:06.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had no library, no guidance counselor,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.75,0:02:08.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it did have a police officer.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.75,0:02:12.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Half the teachers were substitutes,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.32,0:02:14.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and when students got into fights,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.32,0:02:18.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the school would send them\Nto the local county jail.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.24,0:02:22.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the school where I met Patrick.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.24,0:02:27.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was 15, and held back twice,\Nhe was in the eighth grade.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.20,0:02:30.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was quiet, introspective,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.73,0:02:33.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like he was always in deep thought.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.56,0:02:36.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he hated seeing other people fight.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.52,0:02:41.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I saw him once jump between two girls\Nwhen they got into a fight,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.32,0:02:44.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he got himself knocked to the ground.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.39,0:02:47.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Patrick had just one problem.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.93,0:02:49.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He wouldn't come to school.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.24,0:02:53.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said that sometimes school\Nwas just too depressing
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.74,0:02:56.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because people were always fighting\Nand teachers were quitting.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.03,0:03:03.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And also, his mother worked two jobs\Nand was just too tired to make him come.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.43,0:03:07.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I made it my job\Nto get him to come to school.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.20,0:03:11.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And because I was crazy and 22\Nand zealously optimistic,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.27,0:03:13.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my strategy was to show up at his house
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.43,0:03:16.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and say, "Hey, why don't you\Ncome to school?"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.54,0:03:18.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this strategy actually worked,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.19,0:03:20.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he started to come to school every day.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.66,0:03:23.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he started to flourish in my class.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.10,0:03:25.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was writing poetry,\Nhe was reading books.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.91,0:03:29.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was coming to school every day.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.03,0:03:32.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Around the same time
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.53,0:03:35.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I had figured out\Nhow to connect to Patrick,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.26,0:03:37.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I got into law school at Harvard.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.58,0:03:42.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I once again faced this question,\Nwhere should I put myself,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.97,0:03:44.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where do I put my body?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.47,0:03:48.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I thought to myself
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.14,0:03:51.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the Mississippi Delta was a place\Nwhere people with money,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.66,0:03:53.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people with opportunity,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.58,0:03:54.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,those people leave.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.88,0:03:57.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the people who stay behind
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.34,0:04:00.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are the people who don't have\Nthe chance to leave.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.82,0:04:03.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I didn't want to be a person who left.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.13,0:04:05.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wanted to be a person who stayed.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.35,0:04:08.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On the other hand, I was lonely and tired.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.31,0:04:14.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I convinced myself\Nthat I could do more change
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.13,0:04:17.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on a larger scale if I had\Na prestigious law degree.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.51,0:04:20.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I left.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.74,0:04:24.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Three years later,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.36,0:04:26.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when I was about\Nto graduate from law school,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.78,0:04:28.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my friend called me
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.53,0:04:33.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and told me that Patrick\Nhad got into a fight and killed someone.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.32,0:04:37.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was devastated.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.40,0:04:39.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Part of me didn't believe it,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.88,0:04:42.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but part of me also knew that it was true.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.60,0:04:45.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I flew down to see Patrick.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.74,0:04:49.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I visited him in jail.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.56,0:04:54.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he told me that it was true.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.20,0:04:56.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That he had killed someone.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.62,0:04:58.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he didn't want to talk more about it.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.83,0:05:01.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I asked him what had happened with school,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.89,0:05:05.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he said that he had dropped out\Nthe year after I left.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.02,0:05:08.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then he wanted\Nto tell me something else.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.72,0:05:11.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He looked down and he said\Nthat he had had a baby daughter
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.01,0:05:13.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who was just born.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.78,0:05:16.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he felt like he had let her down.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.61,0:05:21.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That was it, our conversation\Nwas rushed and awkward.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.44,0:05:28.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I stepped outside the jail,\Na voice inside me said,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.48,0:05:29.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Come back.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.77,0:05:33.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you don't come back now,\Nyou'll never come back."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.30,0:05:39.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I graduated from law school,\Nand I went back.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:40.84,0:05:42.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I went back to see Patrick,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.54,0:05:45.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I went back to see if I could help him\Nwith his legal case.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.93,0:05:50.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this time, when I saw him\Na second time,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.29,0:05:52.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I thought I had this great idea, I said,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.59,0:05:56.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Hey, Patrick, why don't you\Nwrite a letter to your daughter,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.20,0:05:59.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that you can keep her on your mind?"
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.98,0:06:03.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I handed him a pen\Nand a piece of paper,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.73,0:06:05.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he started to write.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.55,0:06:09.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But when I saw the paper\Nthat he handed back to me,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.38,0:06:10.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was shocked.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.98,0:06:15.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I didn't recognize his handwriting,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:15.12,0:06:17.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he had made simple spelling mistakes.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.18,0:06:21.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I thought to myself that as a teacher,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.88,0:06:25.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I knew that a student\Ncould dramatically improve
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.37,0:06:28.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a very quick amount of time,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.46,0:06:32.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I never thought that a student\Ncould dramatically regress.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.39,0:06:36.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What even pained me more,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:36.27,0:06:38.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was seeing what he had written\Nto his daughter.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:39.50,0:06:40.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He had written,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:40.93,0:06:45.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I'm sorry for my mistakes,\NI'm sorry for not being there for you."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:46.47,0:06:49.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this was all he felt\Nhe had to say to her.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.27,0:06:54.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I asked myself how can I convince him\Nthat he has more to say,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:54.60,0:06:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,parts of himself that\Nhe doesn't need to apologize for.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.94,0:07:00.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wanted him to feel
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.15,0:07:04.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that he had something worthwhile\Nto share with his daughter.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.92,0:07:09.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For every day the next seven months,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:09.14,0:07:11.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I visited him and brought books.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.82,0:07:15.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My tote bag became a little library.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.70,0:07:17.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I brought James Baldwin,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.80,0:07:21.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I brought Walt Whitman, C.S. Lewis.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.69,0:07:27.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I brought guidebooks to trees, to birds,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:27.56,0:07:30.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what would become\Nhis favorite book, the dictionary.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.67,0:07:33.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On some days,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.38,0:07:37.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we would sit for hours in silence,\Nboth of us reading.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:38.09,0:07:39.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And on other days,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.97,0:07:42.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we would read together,\Nwe would read poetry.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.51,0:07:47.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We started by reading haikus,\Nhundreds of haikus,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.43,0:07:49.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a deceptively simple masterpiece.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.32,0:07:53.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I would ask him, "Share with me\Nyour favorite haikus."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.17,0:07:56.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And some of them are quite funny.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:56.24,0:07:58.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So there's this by Issa:
Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.11,0:08:01.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Don't worry, spiders,\NI keep house casually."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.76,0:08:07.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this: "Napped half the day,\Nno one punished me!"
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.65,0:08:13.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this gorgeous one, which is about\Nthe first day of snow falling,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.12,0:08:17.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Deer licking first frost\Nfrom each other's coats."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:19.25,0:08:22.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's something mysterious and gorgeous
Dialogue: 0,0:08:22.28,0:08:24.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just about the way a poem looks.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:24.98,0:08:29.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The empty space is as important\Nas the words themselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.36,0:08:33.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We read this poem by W.S. Merwin,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:33.94,0:08:38.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which he wrote after he saw\Nhis wife working in the garden
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.15,0:08:41.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and realized that they would spend\Nthe rest of their lives together.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:43.17,0:08:45.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Let me imagine that we will come again
Dialogue: 0,0:08:45.55,0:08:48.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when we want to and it will be spring
Dialogue: 0,0:08:48.96,0:08:52.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We will be no older than we ever were
Dialogue: 0,0:08:52.16,0:08:56.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The worn griefs will have eased\Nlike the early cloud
Dialogue: 0,0:08:56.12,0:08:59.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through which morning\Nslowly comes to itself"
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.93,0:09:03.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I asked Patrick what his favorite\Nline was, and he said,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.32,0:09:06.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"We will be no older than we ever were."
Dialogue: 0,0:09:08.37,0:09:12.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said it reminded him of a place\Nwhere time just stops,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:12.83,0:09:15.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where time doesn't matter anymore.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:15.78,0:09:17.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I asked him\Nif he had a place like that,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:17.87,0:09:19.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where time lasts forever.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:20.28,0:09:21.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he said, "My mother."
Dialogue: 0,0:09:23.88,0:09:28.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When you read a poem\Nalongside someone else,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:28.23,0:09:30.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the poem changes in meaning.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:31.32,0:09:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because it becomes personal\Nto that person, becomes personal to you.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:37.51,0:09:40.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We then read books, we read so many books,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:40.23,0:09:43.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we read the memoir of Frederick Douglass,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:43.38,0:09:46.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an American slave who taught\Nhimself to read and write,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:46.99,0:09:50.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and who escaped to freedom\Nbecause of his literacy.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:51.86,0:09:54.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had grown up thinking\Nof Frederick Douglass as a hero,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:54.56,0:09:57.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I thought of this story\Nas one of uplift and hope.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:58.91,0:10:01.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this book put Patrick\Nin a kind of panic.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.86,0:10:07.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He fixated on a story Douglass told\Nof how, over Christmas,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:07.96,0:10:11.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,masters give slaves gin
Dialogue: 0,0:10:11.10,0:10:14.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a way to prove to them\Nthat they can't handle freedom.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:14.60,0:10:17.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because slaves would be\Nstumbling on the fields.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:19.49,0:10:21.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Patrick said he related to this.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:22.35,0:10:25.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said that there are people in jail\Nwho, like slaves,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.85,0:10:28.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,don't want to think about their condition,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:28.09,0:10:29.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it's too painful.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:29.90,0:10:32.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Too painful to think about the past,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:32.13,0:10:35.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,too painful to think\Nabout how far we have to go.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:36.96,0:10:39.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,His favorite line was this line:
Dialogue: 0,0:10:39.87,0:10:43.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Anything, no matter what,\Nto get rid of thinking!
Dialogue: 0,0:10:43.51,0:10:48.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was this everlasting thinking\Nof my condition that tormented me."
Dialogue: 0,0:10:49.95,0:10:53.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Patrick said that Douglass was brave\Nto write, to keep thinking.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:55.08,0:11:00.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Patrick would never know\Nhow much he seemed like Douglass to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.68,0:11:04.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How he kept reading,\Neven though it put him in a panic.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:05.26,0:11:08.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He finished the book before I did,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:08.32,0:11:12.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reading it in a concrete\Nstairway with no light.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:13.58,0:11:16.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then we went on to read\None of my favorite books,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:16.32,0:11:18.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Marylinne Robinson's "Gilead,"
Dialogue: 0,0:11:18.54,0:11:22.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is an extended letter\Nfrom a father to his son.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:22.70,0:11:25.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He loved this line:
Dialogue: 0,0:11:25.10,0:11:27.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I'm writing this in part to tell you
Dialogue: 0,0:11:27.28,0:11:30.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that if you ever wonder\Nwhat you've done in your life ...
Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.61,0:11:32.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you have been God's grace to me,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:32.66,0:11:35.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a miracle, something\Nmore than a miracle."
Dialogue: 0,0:11:37.39,0:11:43.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Something about this language,\Nits love, its longing, its voice,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:43.05,0:11:45.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rekindled Patrick's desire to write.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:46.30,0:11:49.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he would fill notebooks upon notebooks
Dialogue: 0,0:11:49.42,0:11:52.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with letters to his daughter.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:52.76,0:11:55.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In these beautiful, intricate letters,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:55.71,0:12:01.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he would imagine him and his daughter\Ngoing canoeing down the Mississippi river.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:01.72,0:12:04.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He would imagine them\Nfinding a mountain stream
Dialogue: 0,0:12:04.52,0:12:06.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with perfectly clear water.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:08.03,0:12:11.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As I watched Patrick write,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:11.24,0:12:13.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I though to myself,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:13.41,0:12:15.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I now ask all of you,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:15.49,0:12:20.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how many of you have written a letter\Nto somebody you feel you have let down?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:22.05,0:12:27.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is just much easier\Nto put those people out of your mind.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:28.08,0:12:32.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Patrick showed up every day,\Nfacing his daughter,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:32.75,0:12:35.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,holding himself accountable to her,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:35.72,0:12:39.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,word by word with intense concentration.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:42.43,0:12:44.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wanted in my own life
Dialogue: 0,0:12:46.04,0:12:48.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to put myself at risk in that way.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:49.12,0:12:52.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because that risk reveals\Nthe strength of one's heart.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:56.63,0:13:00.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Let me take a step back\Nand just ask an uncomfortable question.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:00.73,0:13:04.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Who am I to tell this story,\Nas in this Patrick story?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:06.05,0:13:09.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Patrick's the one who lived with this pain
Dialogue: 0,0:13:09.04,0:13:13.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I have never been hungry\Na day in my life.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:15.23,0:13:17.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I thought about this question a lot,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:17.06,0:13:20.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but what I want to say is that this story\Nis not just about Patrick.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:20.80,0:13:22.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's about us,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:22.35,0:13:24.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's about the inequality between us.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:25.67,0:13:28.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The world of plenty
Dialogue: 0,0:13:28.36,0:13:31.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that Patrick and his parents\Nand his grandparents
Dialogue: 0,0:13:32.02,0:13:33.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have been shut out of.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:33.87,0:13:36.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In this story, I represent\Nthat world of plenty.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:37.77,0:13:41.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in telling this story,\NI didn't want to hide myself.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:41.63,0:13:44.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hide the power that I do have.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:45.33,0:13:48.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In telling this story,\NI wanted to expose that power,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:48.91,0:13:51.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then to ask,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:51.32,0:13:54.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how do we diminish\Nthe distance between us?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:56.24,0:13:59.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Reading is one way to close that distance.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:59.90,0:14:04.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It gives us a quiet universe\Nthat we can share together,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:04.32,0:14:06.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we can share in equally.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:08.48,0:14:11.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You're probably wondering now,\Nwhat happened to Patrick.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:11.61,0:14:13.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Did reading save his life?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:14.59,0:14:16.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It did and it didn't.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:17.90,0:14:20.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When Patrick got out of prison,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:20.79,0:14:23.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,his journey was excruciating.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:24.28,0:14:27.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Employers turned him away\Nbecause of his record,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:27.81,0:14:30.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,his best friend, his mother,\Ndied at age 43
Dialogue: 0,0:14:30.96,0:14:33.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from heart disease and diabetes.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:33.47,0:14:36.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He's been homeless, he's been hungry.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:38.26,0:14:42.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So people say a lot of things\Nabout reading that feel exaggerated to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:43.78,0:14:47.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Being literate didn't stop him\Nform being discriminated against.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:47.81,0:14:50.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It didn't stop his mother from dying.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:51.70,0:14:54.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what can reading do?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:55.37,0:14:59.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have a few answers to end with today.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:00.69,0:15:03.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Reading charged his inner life
Dialogue: 0,0:15:05.09,0:15:08.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with mystery, with imagination,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:08.16,0:15:09.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with beauty.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:10.30,0:15:14.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Reading gave him images that gave him joy:
Dialogue: 0,0:15:15.41,0:15:20.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mountain, ocean, deer, frost.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:21.01,0:15:25.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Words that taste of a free, natural world.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:27.62,0:15:30.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Reading gave him a language\Nfor what he had lost.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:31.15,0:15:35.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How precious are these lines\Nfrom the poet Derek Walcott?
Dialogue: 0,0:15:35.82,0:15:37.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Patrick memorized this poem.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:38.07,0:15:40.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Days that I have held,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:40.23,0:15:42.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,days that I have lost,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:42.50,0:15:45.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,days that outgrow, like daughters,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:45.74,0:15:47.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my harboring arms."
Dialogue: 0,0:15:48.69,0:15:51.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Reading taught him his own courage.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:51.69,0:15:54.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Remember that he kept reading\NFrederick Douglass,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:54.99,0:15:56.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even though it was painful.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:57.18,0:16:00.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He kept being conscious,\Neven though being conscious hurts.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:02.21,0:16:04.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Reading is a form of thinking,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:04.78,0:16:08.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's why it's difficult to read\Nbecause we have to think.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:08.86,0:16:12.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Patrick chose to think,\Nrather than to not think.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:16.01,0:16:19.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And last, reading gave him a language\Nto speak to his daughter.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:21.38,0:16:23.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Reading inspired him to want to write.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:24.64,0:16:28.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The link between reading\Nand writing is so powerful.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:28.79,0:16:30.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When we begin to read,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:30.89,0:16:32.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we begin to find the words.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:33.96,0:16:37.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he found the words to imagine\Nthe two of them together.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:38.62,0:16:40.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He found the words
Dialogue: 0,0:16:41.95,0:16:44.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to tell her how much he loved her.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:46.06,0:16:49.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Reading also changed\Nour relationship with each other.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:50.01,0:16:52.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It gave us an occasion for intimacy,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:52.07,0:16:54.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to see beyond our points of view.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:55.00,0:16:57.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And reading took an unequal relationship
Dialogue: 0,0:16:57.71,0:17:00.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and gave us a momentary equality.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:02.13,0:17:05.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When you meet somebody as a reader,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:05.07,0:17:07.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you meet him for the first time,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:07.09,0:17:08.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,newly, freshly.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:09.87,0:17:13.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There is no way you can know\Nwhat his favorite line will be.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:14.46,0:17:17.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What memories and private griefs he has.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:18.85,0:17:22.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you face the ultimate privacy\Nof his inner life.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:23.65,0:17:27.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then you start to wonder,\N"Well, what is my inner life made of?
Dialogue: 0,0:17:27.11,0:17:30.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What do I have that's worthwhile\Nto share with another?"
Dialogue: 0,0:17:33.00,0:17:34.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to close
Dialogue: 0,0:17:36.20,0:17:40.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on some of my favorite lines\Nfrom Patrick's letter to his daughter.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:41.33,0:17:44.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The river is shadowy in some places
Dialogue: 0,0:17:44.13,0:17:47.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the light shines\Nthrough the cracks of trees ...
Dialogue: 0,0:17:47.43,0:17:50.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On some branches\Nhang plenty of mulberries.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:51.01,0:17:54.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You stretch your arm\Nstraight out to grab some."
Dialogue: 0,0:17:56.06,0:17:58.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this lovely letter, where he writes,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:58.51,0:18:02.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Close your eyes and listen\Nto the sounds of the words.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:02.87,0:18:05.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I know this poem by heart
Dialogue: 0,0:18:05.10,0:18:07.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I would like you to know it, too."
Dialogue: 0,0:18:09.39,0:18:11.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you so much everyone.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:11.21,0:18:14.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)