LeVar Burton Has The Perfect Way To Help Families Get Through Coronavirus Quarantine
As we enter week two of quarantine (or week three, depending on where you live) we're going to need a few more positive ideas on how to pass the time other than joining yet another Tik Tok challenge or trying another new cookie recipe. Enter actor and director, LeVar Burton, who was the long-running star of the PBS educational series, Reading Rainbow.
Burton has been focused on putting together a live stream version of his podcast, “LeVar Burton Reads,” to help ease the anxiety of those confined by shelter-in-place orders (and to give parents of young children a much-needed break.)
“I’ve been busting my brain for about a week now trying to figure out how to do a live-streamed version of #LeVarBurtonReads,” Burton said, according to Philadelphia's Fox29. "I figured that during this difficult time I could contribute by reading aloud to folks who could use some diversion for themselves and their families."
He continued, “In order to avoid legal complications, I’ve gone down the rabbit hole searching through volumes of short stories in the public domain for appropriate content for families and have come up empty.”
This isn't the first time Burton has faced challenges to finding family friendly content for his vision. In 2013, when he attempted to reboot Reading Rainbow via Kickstarter, WNED (the original producer of the series) filed a lawsuit against him. He tried to wiggle around the legalities by making it free to the public, but that created issues when it came to paying for expensive licenses to access books.
Burton is facing the same issues now with trying to bring “LeVar Burton Reads” to live stream during coronavirus. After expressing his frustrations on Twitter, several authors and publishing houses have stepped up to help Burton clear the path ahead.
Neil Gaiman was among the first who tweeted back and give Burton consent to read his books, including American Gods and Coraline, on live stream at no charge:
This prompted HarperCollins, one of the biggest publishing houses in America, to step up with this generous offer:
Looks like the “LeVar Burton Reads” live stream will soon be a reality, thanks to Burton's perseverance and the generosity of others.
Follow @levarburton on Twitter for details on the upcoming launch!
