Gavin Gracey

夸梅·亞歷山大是一位詩人、教育家，也是《紐約時報(bào)》的暢銷書作家，作品包括《不敗》《預(yù)定》《反彈》。

Kwame Alexander is the author of The Crossover， Rebound， and several other best?selling titles. Millions of young people around the world have read and love his novels and poems.

I once spoke with Alexander at the National Book Festival in Washington， D.C. I asked about his new novel， The Door of No Return. The novel follows the frightening journey of 11?year?old Kofi Offin after a tragedy changes life in his West African village. Here are highlights from my conversation with the author.

The theme of this years National Book Festival is “Books Bring Us Together”. Do you think thats true？

Absolutely， books can bring us together. Books can be mirrors where we see ourselves， and books can be windows to see other people. We become more connected to each other and to ourselves.

Did any experiences inspire you to write The Door of No Return？

I went to Ghana， in West Africa， 11 times. The name Kwame comes from Ghana. Going there so much， tasting the food， meeting the people， and putting my feet in the ocean， I felt some type of kinship （親切感）. I felt like I was connected to this place. I wanted to write a story that was related to it. Those trips inspired me.

In the book， the character of Kofi is faced with an unexpected challenge. How do you think challenges can bring us together？

We cant figure everything out on our own. Sometimes， we need help from other people. We realize that we have others around us who can support us， give us ideas， and help us. That makes us a stronger family and community， and stronger， better people.

What inspired Kwame Alexander to write The Door of No Return？