Author Julie Otsuka visits Marck Beggs’ Creative Writing class. Photos by Judea Jackson Design by Amy Porter
Alexander said. And before all of this can take place, the Common Book Committee, a group of faculty and staff, with one student, from varied disciplines of study, begins the selection process 18 months before the next year, even as they are planning events for the book already selected for the current year. The group narrows down a list of nominated books to five or six and then votes for one, taking into account criteria such as whether the book is “readable, relevant and engaging for students.” “It really drew you in,” Heidi Vix, Systems and Electronic Resources Librarian and committee member since 2008, explained why she rooted for Otsuka’s book while it was in committee. “It was one of those stories that I stayed up far too late reading, because I didn’t want to put it down.” She thought it was engaging, a fun read and it also had historical elements that many freshmen may not know about. It was impor-
Besides Beggs’ Creative Writing class and every freshman Henderson Seminar, the common book was used in other classes, such as Martin Halpern’s history class. Halpern said he adopted the book for his US History survey class to study the internment of Japanese Americans and that it fit in perfectly with the rest of his reading assignments. This was his first time incorporating a common book into his curriculum, but he encourages his students each year to pick up the common book. “It’s free,” he tells them. Claudia Gonzalez, senior biology major, was in the Honors Seminar class that Otsuka also visited while at Henderson. “I like the fact that she talked about her book” Gonzalez said. “I wondered why she used these characters and what she wanted to accomplish, so when she shared her reasons, the book had a new light.” This class is focused on interdisciplinary learning and covers a variety of academic areas. Brian Hunt said he was more interested in the
them?” she asks herself. And her enjoyment is the by-product. As a lifetime reader, she relishes all the perks of meeting authors with international reputations whom she already admires or whom she comes to admire. “I’m very happy with it even though I go nuts with the details,” she said and smiled. “It’s really worth it.” The students of Beggs’ writing class would agree with Alexander, especially as the quiet but firm author put her finger to her chin and thought before answering the heated question of the killing of the dog. “Why kill the dog with a shovel?” she began. She explained to the students that at first she had the woman kill the dog with a gun, but someone else showed her why that would not work. A woman like the character, in the suburbs during that time, would not own a gun. The dog was very old and sickly. He was going to die. “I saw it as a mercy killing and not an act of cruelty.” And that’s that.
“The book had a soul ... But once I met her and saw her personality, the book made more sense.” tant to her that the book appeal to multiple disciplines, not just English.“This isn’t just a fun read; this is a learning experience,” she said, then smiled and lifted her shoulders. “Hopefully, it’s fun, too.” Marck Beggs, professor of English and committee member, was so impressed with her book that, once he knew Otsuka was coming, he specifically asked Alexander if the author could come to his Creative Writing Class. Once she came he did not regret his decision. He enjoyed Otsuka’s visit as it enabled the students to get practical writing advice from a published writer. “It’s nice to hear things that I’ve already told them reinforced in a different voice and manner,” he said.
history aspect of Otsuka’s book. “I wanted to know more about the internment camps,” Hunt said. “You learn about them in history classes but it made me think about what actually happened.” Gonzalez also thought the subject matter became more personal when she was able to hear the author speak about her own book. “The book had a soul. I felt her in the book. I know that sounds creepy,” she said and laughed. “But once I met her and saw her personality, the book made more sense.” Experiences like Gonzalez’s and Hunt’s are what the Common Book Program is all about to Lea Ann Alexander. “First and foremost, what will it be like for the students and what can this speaker offer
Courtesy of Random House, Inc.
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