How George conveys the innovative podcast is his way of breaking down what is going on in his life and his community, through storytelling, looking at popular songs, creating characters that live in his head, and breaking it down intricately with his producer, Benbrick.
Objective of Have You Read George's Podcast?
The book is a solution to engage creatively with questions he had as young person. Much as he appreciates the literature that they read back in his school days, the likes of Shakespear, Great Gatsby etc; they are not close to his reality. Hence one of the main objectives of this book is to get it to every school in the UK. He is offering literature that reflects something closer to their reality, closer to their context and the current times. Thus getting it to every school is essential.
READ MORE: Insightful excerpts from Chapter 3 of Have You Heard George's Podcast?
Concluding Thoughts
Even though we live in a digital village, access remains a key aspect in disseminating information. We still have more work to do to get information to the masses, especially such intriguing work by the likes of George The Poet. Having a book format of his innovative and iconic podcast is important and allows for access for those who might not have it in podcast form.
Podcasts remain a crucial part of new media platforms, but you can never go wrong with a book, which makes George's latest offering a brilliant idea, because not everyone has access to podcasts despite how popular they are, hence a book version of his impeccable work is ideal.
It is important to document things in various forms such as books. However, who writes the books is as important and so are their intentions. For example, as a people who have been colonised and the appalling disruption caused by colonisation; we ought to question who writes the books we read or any other content we consume. We need intentional literature and the African education system as a whole needs a complete overhaul; including the books/literature used in our curriculum. It would be wonderful to have copies of George's carefully curated purpose-driven work in African schools as well. His work has a ripple effect on our communities because it enables us to think as opposed to the current colonial curriculum which tells us what to think.
For those who have access; it would be wonderful to listen to the podcast and read the book and experience his creativity and thought process in both formats. In the meantime, you can listen to the podcast <here> .
Have You Read George's Podcast can be purchased <here> or <here>.