Human Library to Debut in Dorchester ~ April 18th, 2015

Human Library to Debut in Dorchester

Dorchester, MA – March 24, 2015 – On Saturday, April 18^th from 10-2pm, the librarians at the Fields Corner Branch Library in Dorchester will be encouraging patrons to check out and converse with living “Human Books”. The eclectic collection will cover such topics as Living with a Disability, Overcoming Homelessness, Jehovah’s Witness and Female with Aspergers, among others.

The book titles are thought-provoking for a reason: All represent people who have been stereotyped due to issues of race, sex, age, disability, sexual preference, gender identity, class, religion, lifestyle choices or other aspects of who they are. Human Books are local residents, workers and students who have volunteered to be “checked-out” for 15 minute “loan periods” during the four-hour event. Books will engage with borrowers in one-on-one conversations about their experience, with questions strongly encouraged.

“Fear promotes prejudice, tries to pretend it doesn’t exist. The Human Library promotes curiosity, which can help to unlock our shared humanity,” said organizer Lynn Holmgren of Write on the DOT. “Personal storytelling and dialogue are powerful tools for peace and healing, but they’re often underutilized.” The event is a collaborative effort between the UMass Boston MFA Program, Write on the DOT community reading series and BPL Fields Corner.

The Human Library (humanlibrary.org) was created in 2000 by members of the Danish youth organization Stop the Violence and is now operational in more than 60 countries. This will be the first Human Library event to take place in Massachusetts, and the organizers hope its success will inspire other communities in Boston and beyond to take part in this intentional, community-building project.

CONTACT:

Lynn Holmgren

dotreadingseries@gmail.com

(717)599-4320

March 6th, 2015 FEATURED READERS

Please join Write on the DOT at The Banshee on March 6th at 6:30PM to hear these exciting local talents!

Danielle Legros-Georges

  

1. How long have you been living and/or studying in Dorchester?

I've been living in Dorchester 11 years.

 

2. Complete this sentence: I wouldn’t have made it through this winter without...

Winter?   What is this word Winter of which I have heard so much?

3. If you were on a warm, sunny stranded island which poet/author would you want for company?

Could it be a party? --  with Marlene Nourbese Philip, Wisława Szymborska, and Yusef Komunyakaa. 

 

4. Best writing advice you could put on a coffee mug?

 

Forward motion.

Liam Day

  

1. How long have you been living and/or studying in Dorchester? 

I first moved to Dorchester in 1994 right after college. I then moved out for a stretch, coming back in 2005.

                   2. Complete this sentence: I wouldn’t have made it through this winter without...

            Wine.

                 3.  If you were on a warm, sunny stranded island which poet/author would you want  for company?

Probably Oscar Wilde. He was witty and liked to drink. (That’s assuming there was alcohol on this stranded island.)

           4. Best writing advice you could put on a coffee mug?

Find a way to be productive even when you don’t feel productive.

 

Emily Jaeger

1.   How long have you been living and/or studying in Dorchester?

6 months

2. Complete this sentence: I wouldn’t have made it through this winter without...

The video of Marty Walsh telling Bostonians not to jump out windows “because this isn’t Loon Mountain.” 

3. If you were on a warm, sunny stranded island which poet/author would you want for company?

Thoreau, Mary Oliver, or Annie Dillard—someone with proven wilderness survival skills.

4. Best writing advice you could put on a coffee mug?

Make poetry your second daily habit.

 

Nazila Hafezi

               1. How long have you been living and/or studying in Dorchester? 

                  

                   Almost three years.

               2. Complete this sentence: I wouldn’t have made it through this winter without...

                    Netflix!

       3. If you were on a warm, sunny stranded island which poet/author would you want for company? 

               Roberto Bolaño, the great Chilean poet and author, who always lived in exile. For   his Savage Detectives and his amazing sense of humor in his writing, and for the fact that he had to switch from writing poems to writing novels in order to feed his family.

              4.  Best writing advice you could put on a coffee mug?

 

                   “Nothing stinks like a pile of unpublished writing” –Sylvia Plath