New Door Books
“You need something to open up a new door”
—Bob Dylan
  • Home
  • News
  • About
  • Books
  • Contact
  • Author Reading Series

Sanctuary?

5/25/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Like many other writers, members of our sponsoring organization, the Working Writers Group (WWG), have been getting more politically involved since a certain election last November. One topic of particular interest is the treatment of refugees and other immigrants. Technically our home, Philadelphia, is a "sanctuary city," but there's much debate over what that means in practice and how well the status can be maintained. Roundups of undocumented people have increased here as well as in other cities. Some people are reluctant to leave their homes for fear of being arrested.

So, as writers, what can we do? One important action is to tell the stories of immigrants to make it clear that (a) most are good people who come here to escape violence, poverty, or injustice and (b) their presence actually makes our nation stronger. Often they exemplify "American values" much better than those of us who sit on the couch watching politicians rant on TV. Whatever the political/legal impact of "sanctuary," writing about the lives of refugees can help build understanding and support, and two WWG members have been doing exactly that.

Mark Lyons has worked for years with immigrant Latino communities. His first book, Espejos y Ventanas/Mirrors and Windows, collected the self-told stories of Mexican farmworkers and their families in Pennsylvania. Now he has a new book, even more extraordinary: the story of a girl who fled Guatemala at age 14 and made her way alone across the whole of Mexico, more than 2,000 miles--dodging police, escaping drug gangs, scrounging for cash and food--to enter the US illegally. Liliana Velásquez is her name, and she recounted her life in interviews with Mark over many months. He then transcribed, edited, and translated this incredible autobiography.

Called Dreams and Nightmares/Sueños y Pesadillas, the book tells Liliana's story in both Spanish and English, on facing pages. Go to https://www.dreamsandnightmares.org/ to learn more about it.

Another WWG member, Ann de Forest, is the writer for a project called (Dis)Placed, sponsored by Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture. Working with photographer Dave Tavani, Ann is documenting the lives of displaced people who have come to Philadelphia from Syria, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Sudan, Indonesia, Kuwait, and elsewhere. They all have different reasons for immigrating, but they share the quality of being courageous both in their journeys and in the willingness to tell their stories. ​One young man, when grilled by Homeland Security, explained his reasons for leaving his country in these words:

I don’t want to participate in the civil war. I don’t want to be involved in fighting or the military. I could never go and kill somebody.

You can read the profiles of these remarkable people here: http://www.albustanseeds.org/displaced/.

Picture
0 Comments

Philly Lit Spelling Bee, June 3

5/2/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
New Door Books is proud (or maybe amused) to announce that our governing organization, the Working Writers Group, will take part in the Philly Lit Spelling Bee on June 3 at Johnny Brenda's in Philadelphia (1201 N. Frankford Ave., ​www.johnnybrendas.com/).

Two-person teams from several local literary organizations will compete for cash prizes while the audience members, and perhaps the contestants as well, get lit on craft beer and sausage croquettes.

Our extraordinary team will be Louis Greenstein, author of Mr. Boardwalk, and Ann de Forest, contributor to Hidden City Daily and many other fine magazines. Ann will bring along her grade-school spelling trophy if she can find it.

In these unpresidented times, spelling may seem a trivial art. Yet, in the words of Betsy DeVos, whom the White House officially dubbed the Secretary of Educatuon, we are passionate about increasing educatuon options for parents and stuedents, and what better way than to mix beer and orthography?

Our profound apologizes in advance for any mistakes made by our teem. But look, if you get into the spirit of the event, you won't even notice.
0 Comments

    Archives

    October 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    November 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    May 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014

    RSS Feed

Picture
2115 Wallace Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130
USA

Picture