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NEWS
RELEASES
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Program
Descriptions
Classic Program
Senior Focus
Crossing Borders
Volume 7, Number 1 - Fall 2008
P & S Participant Will Use
Stories to Guide Others
Interview with Russ Ligon
Russ Ligon remembers the stories he heard every summer in Virginia—stories that sprawled through sticky August afternoons, tales told by old people and punctuated by a spit of chewing tobacco or the tap of a cane on a wooden porch.
And he remembers the heady journeys of his own reading: He’d hunch on the bleachers at the State Universty of New York in New Paltz, making his way through contemporary short stories and nonfiction including Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
“That was one of the best times of my life, when I read authors who gave me a gateway to learning things about the world, about different cultures. It helped me to become more tolerant as a person.”
When Ligon, 47, heard about a People & Stories group meeting at Classic Books in Trenton, he knew he had to be part of it. The philosophical framework was one draw; Freire’s books “had helped liberate me from the environment I was in.” But he also loved the idea of discussing literature with people from all corners of life.
“The idea of reading different authors, talking about characters and messages and political undercurrents, was exciting. To sit there at Classic Books and listen to the opinions of people I’d never met before, of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and see, ‘Wow, they think the same things I think. They value my interpretation or analysis of a story.’ That, in turn, helped me to listen better to them and to think more about a particular story.”
“A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, reminded Ligon of those Virginia summers, when he and his sister would be sent to stay with relatives. “There were various characters, mostly older people, who became memorable—the way they’d sit and tell stories about when they were young…This particular [Welty] story of a grandmother who was left with the care of her young grandson was really heartwarming. The story had a lot to do with commitment and courage.”
The Crossing Borders series ended in May, but for Ligon, its impact continues. “I think it changed the way I read,” he said. “A lot of times, I left the group, continuing to think about a character or story or something someone said. It crossed over to my everyday life.”
Now Ligon plans to help others tell their stories—through his new website, exoffenders.com, which will include “success stories” of people who have been involved in the criminal justice system; and through a master’s program in addiction counseling, which he will begin this fall.
"I'm working on the website, working on putting together workshops for re-entry for ex-offenders. I'm using my experience to help myself and other people." Ligon also plans to receive training as a People & Stories coordinator; he wants to spread the reach of a program that offered him such a powerful experience of literature and community.
"Life in urban areas is somewhat divided. The opportunity to sit down with someone you might not otherwise have a conversations with and discuss issues that get at the root of your values, beliefs, motivations and prejudices is absolutely wonderful. It creates an opportunity to break down some barriers and misperceptions."