Looking forward, “One City One Story” aims to expand more into communities within Boston, especially high schools. “I’m always interested in hearing the voices of the young people who are reading—how they’re reading it and how they engage with it,” Marion says.
FROM LAPTOP TO CITY
Beyond its wide circulation, what makes “One City One Story” special is that it takes open submissions from authors each year. This year’s author, De Leon, had submitted in previous years before being accepted this winter with her short story. Her story focusses on an immigrant family struggling with their differences in opinion as to whether or not Boston has become their home. “I think ‘Home Movie’ hits a lot of themes happening in the city right now. In terms of immigration and what does home mean,” De Leon says. “I hope this story can give people a different perspective on the immigrant experience. It’s hard to get a 360 degree view, so even if it’s just another degree, I hope it gives people a view of new experiences.”
De Leon feels like reception of her work through “One City One Story” has been great, adding that she has been contacted repeatedly by readers who connected deeply with the themes in her story. “Writers work on a laptop in their room and never think about it going out to a city of people,” she says.
De Leon has been involved in several community discussions of “Home Movie” so far, and she plans to attend as many as possible leading up to the festival. “I think the library was happy that it wasn’t their typical audience,” she says, explaining that she thinks the typical audience would be self-selecting. “The conversations we had were so rich, I sense that they are immigrants themselves or children of first generation immigrants. I think they are teachers as well, or people who work with immigrants.” She commends the portability of the booklets, and the wide accessibility of distribution, especially the choice to print in Spanish this year, which she describes as being a major component for many people picking up the story at the Latino Family Festival, which she attended.
OLD MEDIA IN A DIGITAL WORLD
Keeping up with new ways of reading, “One City, One Story” is offered in digital form, including PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats. De Leon, Marion, and Piehl all speak of the importance and popular appeal of having a well-made physical booklet. Despite the increasing integration of technology and digital services into our lives, those involved with the festival are not worried that printed books are going anywhere soon.
In fact, for some, the emerging prevalence of social media is a new tool to be used for the advancement of of printed books. Ralph’s most recent book, which he is presenting at the festival, is called “Renegade Dreams: Living Through Injury in Gangland Chicago.” Through his work, he has dealt with the relationship between fast moving social media and the slower paced literary world. “Social media condenses a lot of information into a headline...that [headline] can really strike a chord with people,” he says. To him, it is the role of expanding upon that headline and discussing it in depth that is in the realm of the literary.
Rosabeth M. Kanter, a professor at Harvard Business School, a presenter at the festival, and recently the author of “MOVE: Putting America's Infrastructure Back in the Lead,” argues that social media platforms and books do not compete because they serve different functions. “For some people they replace books, but I think that for most people they lead them to something bigger. Old media tends to thrive in strange ways alongside of new media,” she continues, adding that that radio was supposed to be killed off by the rise of television, but instead has flourished in new ways. “The old ones don’t completely disappear, but they have to change. Change their form, change their attitude, adapt to the new technology.”
Books importantly set themselves apart from social media, Kanter continues. “It’s the book length, long form reading that I think is important to preserve. Otherwise people get their information through 140 characters,” she says. “Books are an opportunity to explore something in depth, to draw people in, and to learn more than the headline. This makes them more informed people, more informed citizens.” To Kanter, the book festival is special in that it allows people to meet authors and then walk away with a real conversation and a physical book. “A book is a way to talk to people that I wouldn’t normally meet in a conversation.”
Lisa Randall, a Harvard Professor in the Physics Department, is presenting her new book “Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs” at the festival this year. “It’s an era where we worry about books,” Randall says. “I think the fear is a little overstated. I think there’s a general concern about whether people will continue to read. Both fiction and nonfiction books play a very unique role, to the extent that they can tell a story that people don’t know.”
REACHING EACH OTHER
The narrative of “One City One Story” has been one of success. “The community really appreciates what we do,” Marion says, discussing how delighted people were to see her begin to distribute the booklets around the city this year. “We know that people are excited for the story and are excited for the festival, across all of Boston and all backgrounds. It’s really rewarding to see that.”
Moreover, “One City One Story” has aided in the festival’s goal of creating a sense of community among the attendees. As a long time participant of the festival, Ralph appreciates the ease with which they can interact not only with the authors and presenters but with each other. “The festival is an opportunity to engage with people, not necessarily one on one, but in a different way than we do over social media.”
Piehl echoes with Ralph’s statement. “At the book festival people have a connection,” she adds. “30,000 people who are propelled by their love of reading or of the authors make their way into this small space. It’s really gratifying to see that sense of community around that sense of enthusiasm for the power of reading, and of books.”
More ways to while away a lazy afternoon, a solitary meal, or a bus ride to work other than read a book are invented every day, but the staff and annual attendees of the Boston Book Festival are there to remind us that books still maintain a special place in the heart of the city. “A culture has to celebrate the things that are important,” Porter says. “And this is important.”