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What
do professional women from the suburbs, immigrants from Sudan,
incarcerated men, and recovering addicts have in common?
A love of literature and desire to forge bonds across racial, class and
geographic boundaries [in] a new program called Crossing Borders run by
Trenton-based People & Stories/Gente y Cuentos.
Once a week, participants from suburban Mercer County meet with Trenton residents
[at three sites], the Rescue Mission, inmates at the Bo
Robinson Education and Training Center and basic education students at
Operation Fatherhood, to read and discuss short stories. The project is
funded by a grant from the Lawrence-based Princeton Area Community Fund.
The inaugural session concludes next week, but a new summer session
begins in May at three new Trenton sites — a Spanish program at El
Centro de Recursos; Mercer County Community College — Kerney campus, and
Mercer Street Friends. New participants are welcome for these sessions,
said Michael Ann Walstad, a resident of the Woodmont development, and
coordinator for Crossing Borders.
A group of Lawrence women are among the volunteers.
Ms. Walstad signed onto the project after viewing a presentation and
approached her friends and fellow Woodmont residents, Nancy Scott, Liz
Hagen and Sharon Kaplan, about joining the effort. Linda Field, another
Lawrence resident, also joined the program. Both Ms. Scott and Ms. Hagen
said the Crossing Borders program appealed to them because they enjoy
reading and participating in book clubs.
Ms. Kaplan said she had worked in Trenton for many years, but found her
connection to the city and [its] residents slipping away in her retirement.
"I always prided myself [on] being culturally liberal and open and I realized
my circle of acquaintances is pretty one-dimensional," Ms. Kaplan said.
The participants range in age and reading ability. Some participants may
have doctoral degrees while others are barely literate.
"One thing I want to say about the project from the onset is [that] it is not a
literacy program, it is a literature program, and the idea is to bring
rich and enduring literature to people who have not had the experience
of being exposed to it an[d] all the benefits that it can bring," Ms.
Walstad said.
The short stories — which are selected to cover a variety of themes and
human interests — are read aloud by the group facilitator so all
participants "are on the same page," Ms. Walstad said.
The reading list includes: "Girl" by Jamaica Kinkaid; "Abalone, Abalone,
Abalone" by Toshio Mori; and "Eveline" by James Joyce.
Ms. Hagen said she found the stories served as [a] perfect catalyst for
discussion and led to "surprisingly direct" discussions.
One story about racial prejudice where a father didn't want his daughter
to marry a man from a rival tribe struck a chord with one inmate at Bo
Robinson, said Ms. Hagen.
"One man said, 'My mother-in-law would never call me by my Christian
name, she either called me Irish or Irish bastard,'" Ms. Hagen recalled.
"When someone says something as honest as that, how can you hold up any
barriers?"
Some of the participants felt a sense of sadness over parting from the
group.
Ms. Hagen said she is very aware that when the meeting is over, she has
the ability to leave Trenton, while the inmate[s] at Bo Robinson cannot.
Ms. Walstad said [that] during her many years of volunteer experience in
Trenton, the reality that she could leave Trenton always "jarred"
her.
Reading one of the short stories — "Eveline," where the eponymous
main character notes the changes over the years in her native Dublin —
depicted how the suburban and urban participants shared common views.
"She [Eveline] has seen her community in Dublin change over the years she's lived there," Ms. Walstad said. "[T]wo people in the group lived all their lives in Trenton and they talked about [how it] had changed so dramatically and about the gangs and the gunfire."
[S]ome would-be participants from the suburbs did hesitate sign up out
of an uneasiness or unfamiliarity with Trenton, including the recent
spate of gang-related violent crime, Ms. Walstad said.
Ms. Kaplan said all the participants do realize the various dangers
inherent in an urban environment, but that does not deter them from
living their lives.
On a hot spring afternoon April 13, a dozen participants of Crossing
Borders gathered at the Rescue Mission on Carroll Street in Trenton to
read Louise Erdrich's short story, "The Shawl." As many of the clients
are referred from probation and addiction recovery, the Trenton Rescue
Mission requested that the men not be identified by their full names.
The Ledger agreed to honor the request.
The story delves into painful issues of child abuse, addi[c]tions, and
abandonment all viewed through the lens of family ties.
After the 15-minute reading ended, the participants were silent [at
first] –
hesitant to be drawn into conversation by Patricia Andres, People &
Stories executive director who served as facilitator for the group.
Dick Blofson said [he] found himself "too overcome with emotion" to comment
at first.
"It was a very powerful story," he said.
A pivotal scene — where a family's break leads to fatal consequences for
one member and spur[s] the alcoholic decline of another char[ac]ter— formed the
crux of the discussion. Members brought up their own experiences and
found they could relate to the main characters — American Indians of the Ojibwa tribe.
M., a Trenton resident who was recently widowed, said he understood how
the father in story could seek solace from alcohol following the death
of his child.
"Because it kills the pain," M. said.
Another scene, where a teenage son explodes and fights his abusive,
drunken father, resonated with J., who recalled his own teenage battles
with a controlling father.
M., a Trenton resident, said he found the story very emotional. He did
think "it was a great story."
For more information about Crossing Borders, contact People & Stories at
(609) 393-3230 or go to the organization's Web site at
www.peopleandstories.org.
©PACKETONLINE News Classifieds Entertainment Business - Princeton and
Central New Jersey 2007
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