To Find a New Hero?

About a dozen of us attended Chris Abani's talk tonight at the conference. We laughed, wept, and found ourselves questioning the essentializing labels we toss around: refugee, citizen, writer, literature. Earlier in the day, I attended his question and answer session and had much the same reaction to him. His book, Song for Night, is this year's common reader, and I now regret profoundly that we didn't organize an activity around the novella. So I promise $5 for the marathon reading kitty when we get back home. Let's read this profound story of a child soldier as he reconnects with his essential humanity.

I can't even begin to describe all the wonderful things that Abani said, so I would like members to come back in and revise my posting. But the most marvelous thing that he said this morning was "Writers are the curators of our humanity."

--Felicia Steele