Free Library's Program Concludes With Special Appearance From Haitian Author
By Cherri Gregg
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --The 10th anniversary season for the One Book, One Philadelphia program at the Free Library of Philadelphia came to a close on Friday night with an interview with author, Edwidge Danticat.
"An immigrant artist sometimes straddles two places."
Edwidge Danticat grew up in the United States, but spent her life traveling back and forth to her homeland of Haiti--a country that has seen its share of struggle. But Danticat's new book of essays titled, Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Author at Work, tells the stories of artists who, like many Haitians, were able to strive, despite obstacles.
"The great Alice Walker, for example, has an essay in search of our mother's garden, where she writes about women who made quilts or made perfect gardens because they weren't able to be painters, they weren't able to be novelists," Danticat explains.
To listen to Cherri Gregg's full interview with Edwidge Danticat, click below...
Podcast
Free Library Project Coordinator Sara Strictland says the One Book program encourages literacy by having everyone in Philadelphia read the same book.
"Because our author is Haitian and wrote a book about immigrants, we had a lot of programs about the Dream Act, we had Haitian jazz, we had a Haitian art exhibit," Strictland says.
The grand finale also featured a performance by Haitian-American composer and violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain.
For more info regarding One Book, One Philadelphia go to www.freelibrary.org/onebook/obop12/index.cfm.
