Jamaica Kincaid’s short story “Girl” appeared in the New Yorker in 1978 and later went on to become one of the most anthologized short stories of all time. Brief and powerful, “Girl” reads as a “how-to” list for living relayed from mother to daughter in a mere 650 words.
As you read, consider: Do the expectations of parents or family members help or hinder you? Or both?
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“I was not sorry when my brother died.” So begins Tsitsi Dangarembga’s semi-autobiographical novel Nervous Conditions, the story of Tambudzai, a teenage girl in the former Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) who lives in two worlds: that of her parents, poor farmers who earn a meager living, and that of her aunt and uncle, whom the British colonists have chosen to receive an education in England and eventually to run the missionary school. I fell in love with Tambu in the first few pages, and as I introduce her to more readers, I have discovered that they take her to their hearts as well. This includes participants in a Books@Work group as well as college students in a “Questions of Identity” seminar.
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The past few weeks have offered us a lot to think about, including essays on how supporting parents helps foster noncognitive skills in young children, what makes work meaningful, and the power of poetry and listening. We’ve also included an essay on LeBron James and Homeric epic and a few unusual facts about reading.
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In surveys and interviews—nearly 350 to date—our participants’ stories confirm our aspirations: Books@Work provides a safe space to reflect and share, creating the conditions for effective collaboration and more diverse and inclusive organizations and community.
Books@Work is growing—and learning, which is why I am pleased to announce the release of our 2015 Annual Report. In it, we celebrate our learnings and discoveries. During the time this report covers—January 1 to December 31, 2015—we served 586 participants in 40 programs in both company and community settings, partnering with 87 professors from 25 colleges in 8 states. Collectively, our participants read 101 books and many short stories.
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At Books@Work, we recognize (and constantly emphasize) that the opportunity for reflection with others shapes our learning and our performance. We are always learning—about our participants, our company and community partners, about the books we use to spark reflective conversation and the benefits of reading and talking together. In this spirit of self-inquiry, we’d like to take moment ourselves to look back and reflect upon what we have observed in 2015.
Over the past year, Book@Work did not slow down. On every metric, we have grown, from the number of programs (50% growth from 2014) to the number of companies, participants, books and professors (and the colleges and universities in which they teach).
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Professor Michelle Rankins led a lunchtime seminar on two poems by Maya Angelou during the first Cleveland Single Moms Conference in October. The group read “Phenomenal Woman” in unison, forceful and strong voices booming through the open air of the Cleveland Galleria. The Single Moms Conference offered Books@Work the chance to reach readers who might feel isolated. “When I read it, it made me think that beauty is internal,” one participant said. “When you find your inner strength,” another noted, “no one can touch you.”
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I found myself becoming resentful of the little house and its unwillingness to adapt to the realities of the city growing up around it. I was frustrated that the house had to have it all quiet and peaceful in the country, like an idyllic pastoral life was the only life worth living.
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We live in a world with limited resources. For non-profit literacy organizations, that often means choosing between supporting early readers and writers and developing complex literacies in adults. The good news? These aren’t mutually exclusive goals. In celebration of International Literacy Day, we bring three examples that demonstrate one key fact: helping adults grow offers untold benefits to their families, too.
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Participants tell us that one of the most magical aspects of Books@Work takes them well beyond the book – it’s the social interaction that comes from the discussion and the comparison of ideas and perspectives. For many of us, the closest experience we have to sharing the impact of a good book happens when we read to children. The wonder and awe occasioned by a particularly well-loved book leaves a lovely and lasting glow. I’ve been reflecting lately on the books I shared with my children that have left their mark – on them and on me.
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