Program aims to unite community

One Maryland, One Book encourages conversation, understanding

Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2010

Are you reading the One Book?

The statewide One Maryland, One Book program has begun. For the third year in a row, readers from across Maryland are turning the pages of the same book, and gathering to discuss it and participate in other activities based on a shared theme. This year's selection is "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference," by Warren St. John.

In the book, St. John writes of the changes that came to Clarkston, Ga., when it was designated a refugee center. Immigrants from Liberia, Sudan, Iraq and Afghanistan left their homes but brought their culture with them to a quiet, southern town. They, and the residents of Clarkston, did not always enjoy a smooth and easy adjustment, but through determination and compassion, documented by St. John in the world of youth soccer, the community came together in a new, diverse unity.

From now through October, libraries, museums, historical societies and high schools across the state are offering book discussions, writing workshops, lectures by first-generation Americans and showings of movies that tie in with the book's themes of diversity, social adaptation and community.

St. John will also visit six sites across the state in an abbreviated book tour: he will speak at Huntingtown High School on Sept. 27 at 7 p.m.

According to Andrea Lewis, project manager for the Maryland Humanities Council, it is difficult to know just how many people participate in the One Maryland, One Book program each year.

"More than those who come [to an event with official registration] participate. There were around 7,000 [registered participants] in the state, in 2009," Lewis said.

Lewis puts out a call for suggestions for each year's book selection in the fall. Last year, her committee sifted through more than 170 titles before selecting "Outcasts United."

"It must resonate across the state, which is challenging. We hope folks will make the time to read this book; making time for leisure reading is very difficult to fit in," Lewis said. "This year's theme was ‘community:' what brings us together, and what divides us. We hope to get good conversation beyond discussing the book."

One Maryland, One Book is a program coordinated by the Maryland Center for the Book, a program of the Maryland Humanities Council.

"Outcasts United" has also been selected for this year's One Book, One San Diego program and is a "common freshman read" for 2010 for more than a dozen colleges across the nation.

Though all are welcome to participate in One Maryland, One Book, younger readers are also invited to read "Home of the Brave" by Katherine Applegate, and participate in "teen chat" activities through a local branch of the Southern Maryland library system. "Home of the Brave" is a young adult title also about the challenges of an African refugee's assimilation into an American town.

All One Maryland, One Book activities are free and open to the public; some require preregistration. Southern Maryland's libraries have stocked several hundred copies of the book, which is also available for download through local library websites.

For more information on programs in Southern Maryland and around the state, go to onemarylandonebook.org or your local library.

cbasham@somdnews.com