Chiquita Mullins Lee and Carmella Van Vleet, authors of the picture book You Gotta Meet Mr. Pierce!, discuss the life, art, and significance of Elijah Pierce, a celebrated, self-taught Black folk artist known for his wood carvings. They share how their book grew out of Lee’s play about Elijah Pierce, their collaborative writing process, their experience viewing Pierce’s carvings at the Columbus Museum of Art, what it means to them personally to tell Pierce’s story, and more. You Gotta Meet Mr. Pierce! is Ohio’s 2024 Great Reads from Great Places youth selection and represented the state the 2024 National Book Festival. The book is illustrated by Jennifer Mack-Watkins.

Chiquita Mullins Lee is an Arts Learning coordinator at the Ohio Arts Council, where she coordinates Ohio’s Poetry Out Loud program along with the Arts Partnership and the Big Yellow School Bus grant programs. Her play about Elijah Pierce, Pierce to the Soul, will be return to the stage on November 1, 2024, at McConnell Arts Center in Columbus.

Carmella Van Vleet is a former teacher and the award-winning author of almost two dozen books for kids and adults. She lives in Ohio and likes lists, exclamation points, and baking shows. But not necessarily in that order.

Page Count is produced by Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library. For full show notes and an edited transcript of this episode, visit the episode page. To get in touch, email ohiocenterforthebook@cpl.org (put “podcast” in the subject line) or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.