By Emma Bracken

On the evening of November 9, hundreds of people gathered in the Fayetteville Town Center for the chance to hear from best-selling author and philanthropist John Green. Alongside his novels, Green has amassed a passionate fan base due to his “Crash Course” YouTube videos used in schools all over the country. Presented by the University of Arkansas’ Distinguished Lectures Committee, Green paid a visit to NWA to answer questions directly from his fans about his life and career.

Before the lecture, Green also did an exclusive student Q&A with a smaller group of about 30 dedicated fans of his work. The students accepted into the Q&A were able to submit their own questions to have a representative from the DLC ask him in a more conversational, intimate setting than the following lecture. 

Green began by describing his early career, charting his journey from film director’s son, to inspired highschooler, to college-aged Youtube creator, to best-selling author. He draws a thread through his life of being moved by people; all of his successes he credits with the desire to show love and make sense of the love shown to you. At the heart of Green’s tenacious career is community and listening as guiding principles. 

When asked what he wanted to be when he was a child, Green admitted all he has ever wanted to do is tell stories. In just the short Q&A experience, it is evident and inspiring to all of attendees that he has certainly achieved this goal. 

In discussing his own iconic career as an author—with bestsellers such as “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Looking for Alaska”—Green makes sure to cite fellow writers that influence not only his creative process but the way he views the world. He references classics like “The Great Gatsby” and works by Toni Morrison as the pieces he comes back to when building his own stories. Green also acknowledges the poem “September 1, 1939” by W. H. Auden as a favorite of his, that he goes back to when faced with the question of why we write. The piece captures a moment in history where Auden is wondering how the world will make it through. To Green, he is always grappling with that question, and Auden provides the solution in his favorite line from the poem. He wrote, “we must love each other or die.”

This guiding light is prevalent in the shape Green’s career has taken. He has used his platform to learn about and aid in solving the crisis of inaccessible healthcare in marginalized nations of people. As Green shared in both the Q&A and later in the lecture, he suffers from OCD centered around health and sickness. In his own life impacted by medical anxiety, he still recognizes the privilege of living in a country where he has more access to quality healthcare than many others. From telling the personal stories of people who have suffered from illnesses with no health care access to centering most of his fictional works on the life of someone touched with sickness in some form, Green has used written word as a tool to share love and understanding. 

Later, Green expressed to the audience directly that, in his opinion, “writing only works when it’s a gift.” 

In the general lecture, Green was interviewed by the university’s professor Dr. Connors, who specializes in young adult literature. They discussed the necessity of young adult literature as posing important questions to young minds who are excited and willing to grasp them. From experience, Green explained the ways authors write with fuel of their own curiosities and grievances with the hope to aid a reader in grappling with their own. Green quoted Emily Dickson in recommending to aspiring writers to “tell the truth but make it slant.” Both Green and Connors agreed that literature creates a valuable space for young people to connect and grow. 

“Loneliness,” Green said, “is the greatest disease.”

Dr. Connors asked Green about his experience with his own novels being banned from schools across the country and how he was grappled with that, in which Green admits is something that deeply troubles him. He describes banning books as a violation of the sacred agreement between author and reader, which is to have trust and good faith in one another that the book serves as a way to learn from each other earnestly and without barriers. 

“It’s important to see yourself in books, but it’s equally important to see someone else in books,” Green said. 

When presented with an experience inherently different from your own, even in books, a willingness to understand is planted. Green explains that he sees in young people this willingness, and that is why he is drawn to write for them. Community, Green claimed, begins with wanting to be together and to see each other. He believes that only within these actions can the terrible disease of loneliness be cured.

Green ended the lecture with a piece of advice to the crowd of bright-eyed students, which was to remember to listen to and love each other precisely as who we are. “I don’t want to be cold to the reality of feeling,” he told the crowd as they laughed and cheered together. Many students in attendance clutched copies of his books worn with attention and close-reading, others with their favorite Crash Course video in mind. 

Whatever medium we choose to consume stories, they clearly brought together a crowd of passionate young minds wanting to learn more. For Green, it is safe to claim that his hopes for his life’s works have come true in growing a community of young people that are excited to open up their minds and hearts.