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A nice Big Read wrapup
Friday evening, the Dayton Masonic Center was filled with folks who love to read.
You knew this of them because they were there to hear author Firoozah Dumas talk about her memoir, “Funny in Farsi,” which was the chosen book for this year’s Dayton-area Big Read.
She was indeed funny — which is her gimmick, actually, though she is such a wry and engaging person, so bracingly full of life and energy, that “gimmick” seems the wrong word. Her story is of arriving in the United States in the 1970s as a child from Iran with her parents, speaking no English, and gradually learning our culture and how she might fit into it.
She did learn, of course, and the story she tells is a humorous accounting of how she learned a theme she hit a lot in her talk — of the common humanity in all of us, regardless of our religions, customs and nationalities. “When you take away our religions and the spices we cook with, we’re basically all the same; the human experience is truly universal,” she said.
It seems like a small, simple and obvious truth, sure — but then, in these times of violence and misunderstanding, it is also one that is apparently very quickly and easily forgotten. Glad we had her, and her book, to remind us.
Dumas appeared earlier in the day at Meadowdale High School with Sharon Kelly Roth, the wonderful intellectual queen of Books & Co. (what, oh what, would our city do without Sharon?) and talked with students there who had read her book and liked it, writing on it at some length. They both were organizing a project to get copies of the book donated to the students, many of whom apparently wanted it but could not afford it. “That shouldn’t happen in America,” Dumas said. “If children want books, they should have them, and know the feeling of having a book that is yours.” She’s right, of course.
I haven’t had a chance to read “Funny in Farsi” yet, but it’s on my immediate list. My wife liked it pretty well, and said she had a better appreciation for it after hearing Dumas’ talk. I’m looking forward to the read.
The evening included Iranian-style food and some classic Persian dancing and drumming, which was neat. Also, the Big Read organizers handed out this year’s Humanitarian Awards — this year, mostly to people in the community who have spent time making newcomers and immigrants feel welcome in our midst.
I love this town.
As an aside, the committee that chooses the Big Read book for 2009 has started its discussions. If you have an idea or want to contribute, contact the Dayton Metro Library.
Happy reading!
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Comments
By Carolyn
May 3, 2008 2:12 PM | Link to this
Yes, we were lucky to have Firoozeh Dumas in Dayton. Personally I thought the book choice was great because of the appeal to the young adults as well as adults. Writing humor isn’t easy, but it should be appreciated as we all need more humor in our lives. And we all need to question our prejudices. If we can’t travel to have some of our stereotypes challenged then reading books about a variety of people in different cultures is a good place to start. Thank you, Ms. Dumas for collecting books for the students in the school you visited.