Grownups read things they wrote as kids

Share

"Writing saved my life. It's that simple. I didn't do drugs, I didn't drink – I didn't do anything. I wrote, and I wrote my heart out. And that's what kept me alive. I just put my heart on that paper." Those are the words of one of the writer-readers of Grownups Read Things They Wrote as Kids, a new weekly program on CBC Radio One that premieres this morning. The premise is as advertised on the tin: Adults recite passages written by their younger selves, culled from old school assignments, letters from camp, poetry, short stories and personal diaries kept safe over the years. Hosted and created by Dan Misener and taped at a hip, cross-Canadian open-mic reading series, the recitations are by turns hilarious, precious and poignant, written by unaffected children or confused teens struggling with changes. Misener's notion is that in trying to figure out who we are as adults, it can be useful to remember who we were as children. Personal time capsules, then, at their soulful and entertaining best.