Vermont Reads 2010 features Barre author Katherine Paterson
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Katherine Paterson in her Barre Town home with her new book “The Day of the Pelican,” which will be the subject of the Vermont Humanities Council's 2010 Vermont Reads effort. Jeb Wallace-Brodeur / Times Argus |
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By Steven Pappas TIMES ARGUS EDITOR - Published: March 24, 2010
BARRE - Katherine Paterson is used to being outside of her comfort zone. As a writer, she delves into the heart of hard issues, pulling her unique characters through a range of circumstances, and watching what happens when they come out the other side.
Paterson, a Barre Town resident, has been weaving tales for readers young and old for a couple of generations now. With 16 books to her name, many of them geared toward young adult readers, Paterson has tackled issues from racism, religion, and bullying to class and prejudice.
But it was her connection to a local family who came to Vermont in 1999 that gave her the impetus for "The Day of the Pelican" - a true test of one novelist's comfort level.
After church one Sunday, a fellow choir member, Steve Dale, told Paterson she should think about writing about the Haxhiu family from Kosovar that the First Presbyterian Church in Barre had sponsored.
Paterson had written other tales of immigrants (including Barre's Italian community), but this was different - far outside her comfort zone.
But she considered it.
After doing some initial research, "I was hooked," Paterson said recently during an interview at her home.
The struggle of the family, transplants from a far corner of the globe to rural Vermont, a state known for lacking woefully in minorities and especially Kosovars, was replete with drama.
"It was a difficult time for them," she recalled. "And then the world changed."
As if the struggle of relocating had not been difficult in its own right, the patriarch of the Haxhiu family ran into post-9/11 prejudices against him in the workplace. In real life, the co-worker who had harassed him was fired; in Paterson's "Pelican," an arduous struggle develops that gets at the heart of religious rivalries.
"The problem was, I knew nothing about the situation in Kosovo," she said, explaining how she came to spend the next few months researching. She went online, looking for anything she could find to help her "see" the struggles in Kosovo. What she found were amazing pictures by Mark Orfila, whom she contacted by e-mail.
"He was a tremendous help," Paterson explained. Orfila became a willing collaborator, reading Paterson's drafts and offering input, insight and corrections. Having lived and worked in the region, Orfila understood the politics, religious dynamics and, most importantly, the rivalries and prejudices.
"This is a place where neighbors suddenly found themselves hating one another over religion," Paterson said. "It seems foreign to us; but these are feelings that go back many, many generations."
Paterson, who had some understanding of the Muslim-Christian animosity, read extensively about the atrocities, including murders, rapes and some torture.
While that world crosses over into her fictitious Lleshis family, and it is a part of them, their story is mostly American.
Paterson's effort on "Pelican" caught the attention of Peter Gilbert, executive director of the Vermont Humanities Council. In fact, Paterson was still making revisions, when she learned that Gilbert was interested in collaborating with the Vermont author in his nonprofit's Vermont Reads program.
"We are always looking for just the right book, we've wanted to do a Katherine Paterson book for a long time, and someone told me that she had a new book coming out soon," Gilbert said. "It is a compelling well-written book that is really engaging for readers of a broad range of ages and reading levels."
Gilbert and Paterson agreed the story deals with both recent history and current issues - in the world, country and state.
"As long as there is war, there will be civilians caught in the crossfire and there will be refugees," Gilbert said. "And thus there is a story of both displacement and reintegration in a new place. This fictionalized story of a family that is new to Vermont echoes the stories of other immigrant stories in American history, and it reminds us all of the difficult roads that many people have traveled.
Gilbert said he hopes Vermont Reads will provide both reading and activities related to the book, connecting Vermonters of different generations.
According to Sylvia Plumb, the council's communications director, "It promotes collaboration among schools, town libraries, and the other organizations that contribute to vibrant communities."
Paterson said she was flattered to have been asked, and was pleased her publisher, Clarion Books, was willing to do a special soft cover printing of the book just for Vermont Reads.
Paterson is a two-time winner of the National Book Award and the Newbery Medal. In January, she was named National Ambassador for Young People's Literature by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. Paterson will serve in the position during 2010 and 2011; she succeeds Jon Scieszka, appointed in 2008, who was the first person to hold the title. Paterson has chosen "Read for Your Life" as the theme for her platform.
The following towns are participating in the Vermont Reads 2010 program: Barre, Bellows Falls, Bennington, Brattleboro, Brookfield, Burlington, Canaan, Colchester, East Montpelier, Hardwick, Hartland, Highgate Center, Killington, Lyndonville, Middlebury, Montpelier, Peacham, Quechee, Readsboro, Rutland, Saxtons River, South Burlington, South Hero, Springfield, Thetford, Tunbridge, Washington, Waterbury, Westminster, Weybridge, White River Junction and Winooski.
Here is a brief breakdown of upcoming events surrounding the Vermont Reads program:
-- April 27, 7:30 p.m.: "Then and Now." Recent immigrants to Barre, refugees and voluntary immigrants, will discuss the conditions of their departures from their homelands, the experience of "landing" in America, and where they are today in adjusting to their new homes.
-- May 15, 1 to 4 p.m.: Vermont Reads Day/Katherine Paterson celebration, Aldrich Public Library. The celebration will include a book discussion, several children's programs, an address by Paterson, a reception, and a book signing for "The Day of the Pelican."
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