The history of Poland hasn’t always been pretty. While historians would say the country was born in 966 when its ruler became Christianized, it’s territorial boundries haven’t been well-defined throughout the ages. In fact, from 1795 to 1918, Poland didn’t exist as a nation and the territory was divided among the kingdoms of Prussia, Austria, and Russia. Constantly invaded, partitioned, borders redrawn, and territory occupied, the Poles themselves led a workers’ revolution in the 1980s that threw off the shackles of Soviet-led communism and inspired the world with the word: “Solidarity.” Throughout most of the 20th Century, however, many Poles yearned for the freedom and security of America. But for the younger generation who grew up after the fall of communism, those yearnings of their parents and grandparents just aren’t resonating. From the Feet in Two Worlds radio project, reporter Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska has our story.
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Watch slide-show of Greenpoint while you listen:
Immigration and My Therapist
Michelle Serros
Commentator Michele Serros is a typical Mexican-American of her generation. She’s not an immigrant. Her parents weren’t immigrants. But there’s always been a nostalgia about Mexico and a strong Mexican-American culture that was part of her home and community.
So imagine Michele’s confusion when someone she knew started coming to her with an immigration problem. And this someone was actually an educated person living in the same Southern California community as she was. But to top it all, this someone also happened to be her therapist.
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The Open Veins of Latin America :: Web Extra
Uruguayan Writer Eduardo Galeano was in the news recently when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gave a copy of the 1971 book The Open Veins of Latin America to President Barack Obama at the Summit of the Americas. The gesture sent sales of the book soaring.
Eduardo Galeano
Galeano has declined to talk about the Chavez gesture, but he did speak with Maria Hinojosa in 2001 about his new book at the time titled Up Side Down: A Primer For The Looking Glass World. In their conversation, Hinojosa and Galeano spoke briefly about the influence of his 1971 classic of Latin American literature.
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April 30th is the annual celebration of Día de los Libros/Día de los Niños. Created in 1996 by New Mexican writer Pat Mora, the event celebrates literacy and culture, and the joy of learning. And to mark this year’s Day of the Books event, we asked our listeners to send us stories about their experiences with books, libraries, teachers, or learning. Happy exploring!
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(Our thanks to Sam Greenspan for his help in producing this segment!)
When you heard our call for stories about books you loved, booklovers sent us lots of ideas.
LIBRARIANS ARE ROCKSTARS
Flo Trujillo, a librarian in Farmington, New Mexico, wrote that books are coveted and librarians are rock stars in her town.
“When I first started as a Youth Services Librarian twenty years ago, at the Farmington Public Library, story time was my passion. One day while I was at the supermarket with my daughters Jenny and Erika, I asked them to select some of their favorite soups. As we continued to make our selections, a woman came around the corner with a four-year old child in her shopping basket. The mother told me, “I just had to come around to see if it was you, because my daughter told me, mommy that is the library lady on the other side, I want to say Hi!” The young four-year old child had recognized my voice. My daughters though it was so cool, I had become a “celebrity” in their eyes. ”
And Oscar Flores, a youth outreach librarian who hands out RIF—Reading is Fundamental—books to children in Santa Barbara got the same star treatment from a third grader who stooped and said, “Hey I recognize you, you’re Oscar, you gave me RIF books.” Oscar has given out at least 1000 books to kids in Santa Barbara.
Cathy Bonnell, a school librarian at the Ocotillo Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona says after a reading by an author or illustrator the kids stake out the library shelves waiting for the books to appear. Harry Potter watch out! Jack Gantos and his Rotten Ralph books are a huge hit.
“Several students were clustered around the area in the library where the most recent author who had visited should have had books on the shelf. When a bit of a commotion began in the area I went over to see what was up and was told by the students they were just going to have to camp out there until the books came back in. They actually started getting in line! ”
LET YOUR KIDS SEE YOU READING
(click to read book)
Adriana Dominguez, the editor of Pat Mora’s Book Fiesta, tells parents, “Read books.” Let your kids see you read and that will intrigue them. Read to them in Spanish and English. Click to hear Adriana read a little bit of Pat Mora’s Book Fiesta.
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BILINGUAL FAMILIES
Flo Trujillo from Farmington, NM wrote to us about her library’s efforts to reach bilingual households.
“We host Prime Time Family Literacy Time multi-cultural sessions at the Farmington Public Library. During one of the six week English/Spanish sessions the families had a discussion about Wagon Wheels. The families receive books each week to read together and some of the youth read to the parents who are learning to read in English. When they come to the session at the library, we discuss the books asking them to discuss humanities topics (history, literature, and ethical issues such as fairness, greed, honor, etc.) and hope to create a discussion. One immigrant family mentioned that they came from Mexico and have not been able to see their families since they left ten years ago. Another family continued the discussion to say that it wasn’t fair that if they have a job in the US they don’t have a lot of opportunity to go back and forth. The families continued to discuss the hardships they had when they first came to New Mexico and didn’t want their children to have a better life. The sessions are so important to our immigrant families and the other families that attend – there is a mix, because this brings a new awareness to a new culture and a great discussion with the Navajo people and the Spanish immigrant families using books.”
Listen to Carolina Trujillo read Vaya Rabieta by Mireille d’Allancé. Recorded at CentroNía in Washington, DC.
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LIBRARIANS CAN CHANGE LIVES
We heard from Beatriz Guevara who works at the Outreach Department at the Public Library of Charlotte (NC) and Mecklenburg County.
“I was born in Mexico, but came to the U.S. with my family about 16 years ago.
“In Texas, I was placed in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes with other immigrant children, and we were taken to the school library once a week to choose a book. I fell in love with the picture books because even though they were written in English, I could understand the pictures! The library was the only place where I felt safe and important since I felt I was “reading” a lot books (even though I made up my own stories). The only bilingual librarian at the library noticed how frequently I visited and began to choose books that she thought I’d enjoy. At first, I was shy around her, but soon struck up a friendship because of her warm and caring nature. She used to tell me, “You will learn the language by building up your vocabulary, and you can do this though reading.” Thus, my adventure with books began and even my family noticed, to the point that my mom began to get concerned that I would “ruin” my eyes from “all that reading at all times of the day!” Within months, I was reading above the required reading level and the next year, I placed out of ESL classes and was moved into Gifted and Honors classes.
“I owe a lot to that special librarian, including the passion for reading she instilled in me. By watching her and reading amazing books, I realized I wanted to become a librarian and help other people in the same or similar situations as the one I was in. It has taken a lot of hard work, but I am the first person to attend college in my family, and I’m currently pursuing my Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) degree. In my current position, I am fulfilling my dream of helping immigrant families realize that reading and libraries DO open doors to a brighter, better future. I’m proud to say that I continue the legacy a special librarian began many years ago.”
When I overhear the radio news reports that now some in this country want to calculate the benefits of torture, I really do think I am dreaming. Political exiles from all over the world, torture survivors, come here to our country for respite and healing. When they hear this talk, how deeply does it open the wound for them?
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Next week on the program: Latin America and Torture
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Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska was born in Warsaw, Poland and writes for the Polish Daily News in New York.
Michele Serros is the author of Chicana Falsa and other stories of Death, Identity and Oxnard, How to be a Chicana Role Model, Honey Blonde Chica, and her newest young adult novel, ¡Scandalosa!
Eduardo Galeano is a writer, journalist and essayist born in Uruguay..
Pat Mora is a writer based in Sante Fe, New Mexico.
The history of Poland hasn’t always been pretty. While historians would say the country was born in 966 when its ruler became Christianized, it’s territorial boundries haven’t been well-defined throughout the ages. In fact, from 1795 to 1918, Poland didn’t exist as a nation and the territory was divided among the kingdoms of Prussia, Austria, and Russia. Constantly invaded, partitioned, borders redrawn, and territory occupied, the Poles themselves led a workers’ revolution in the 1980s that threw off the shackles of Soviet-led communism and inspired the world with the word: “Solidarity.” Throughout most of the 20th Century, however, many Poles yearned for the freedom and security of America. But for the younger generation who grew up after the fall of communism, those yearnings of their parents and grandparents just aren’t resonating. From the Feet in Two Worlds radio project, reporter Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska has our story.
Uruguayan Writer Eduardo Galeano was in the news recently when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gave a copy of the 1971 book The Open Veins of Latin America to President Barack Obama at the Summit of the Americas. The gesture sent sales of the book soaring.
When they come to the session at the library, we discuss the books asking them to discuss humanities topics (history, literature, and ethical issues such as fairness, greed, honor, etc.) and hope to create a discussion. One immigrant family mentioned that they came from Mexico and have not been able to see their families since they left ten years ago. Another family continued the discussion to say that it wasn’t fair that if they have a job in the US they don’t have a lot of opportunity to go back and forth. The families continued to discuss the hardships they had when they first came to New Mexico and didn’t want their children to have a better life. The sessions are so important to our immigrant families and the other families that attend – there is a mix, because this brings a new awareness to a new culture and a great discussion with the Navajo people and the Spanish immigrant families using books.”
Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska was born in Warsaw, Poland and writes for the Polish Daily News in New York.
