Creative Interviews — Pendarvis Harshaw

I read an interview by the Creative Independent with journalist Pendarvis Harshaw, “On Creating Things that Resonate with You.” His story really stood out to me in his experience of bridging generational divides through technology and storytelling, which is something I aim to work on in my senior project.

Three key point(s) (or the most useful or valuable thing(s) you learned) from this resource, and why.

• Harshaw describes his research process as looking for stories in the arts — first locally, then gradually exploring outwards to nationally and even internationally. I definitely want to try this technique as I research and look for stories about mental health and the immigrant experience.
• Harshaw also notes how stories continue to evolve — they aren’t final when you write them down. For an experience around sharing stories, this definitely reminded me that it’s not a single conversation that defines the whole story — it’s multiple.
• Harshaw says “[my work] is important because it’s near and dear to my heart and I think it resonates with people because of that.” This definitely resonated with me and reminded me that I’m working on this project because I care about this topic, and I hope that comes across to my audience.

Is there anything you disagree with and why? Or anything you do differently or would do differently?

• Harshaw’s perspective is that of a journalist, so mainly writing adjacent, although he does incorporate technology. I want to use his techniques but adjusted to a more technology-oriented solution that can help address in-person conversations.

How does this resource connect with or break from your prior knowledge?

• I really related to Harshaw’s story and experiences, even though they don’t directly relate to me, because of the way he challenged media stereotypes of race and chose to create his own dialogue. I actually haven’t read anything too similar to what he speaks about, but it’s definitely very applicable to my project.

Any confusing points?

• No.