For the 10th year in a row, the Watertown Free Public Library has selected a book for the entire community to read and discuss during the “One Book, One Watertown” celebration. The 2018 selection is the novel Refuge by Dina Nayeri.
The Watertown Free Public Library sent out the following announcement:
This year, for the first time, the library is recommending a “read-along” title for younger readers and English language learners: It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas.
According to librarian Pauli Stern, the WFPL chose Refuge “because of the insight it provides into the bravery and perseverance needed to overcome the obstacles of language, culture, and bureaucracy, while striving to find a feeling of belonging and home.”
Author Dina Nayeri, who lives in London, will visit Watertown on Thursday, March 1. Nayeri will speak at the WFPL at 7:00 p.m., following a 6:00 p.m. tasting of Persian food from Roksana’s Restaurant.
Nayeri’s talk is free and open to the public; tickets are required for the tasting and will be available starting February 1 ($5.00 each) at the Circulation Desk.
Throughout March, the WFPL will celebrate the refugee (and broader immigrant) experience through a variety of events. Highlights include a concert by affiliates of the Persian Music Center of New England, a performance by the Aftab Iranian Dance Troupe, and talks by MIT historian Pouya Alimagham and psychologist Sarina Kaivani. Panels on addiction (the father in the novel struggles with opium addiction) and personal experiences of immigration (shared by English language learners from the library’s Project Literacy program) are also planned.
The WFPL invites residents to read Refuge or It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel, then join the conversation via book discussions and other events. Books are available now at the WFPL, and the complete schedule of events is available on the library’s website at http://www.watertownlib.org/onebook. Residents may also share their own immigration stories, or the immigration stories of family members, for inclusion in a gallery exhibit called “My Family Story” that will be on display at the library in March. For more information on the gallery and to submit, visit http://www.watertownlib.org/family.
About the Watertown Free Public Library
The Watertown Free Public Library provides access to a wide variety of popular materials, resources, services, and programs that fulfill the informational, cultural and recreational needs of Watertown and surrounding communities. The WFPL works to create an environment that attracts and welcomes users of all ages and abilities.