Graphic by Carolyn Chen/The Choate News
Following the reveal of this year’s novel for the One Book, One Wallingford program in early January – Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi – members of the local community have participated in a series of events planned by the Wallingford Public Library.
The main goal of the annual town-wide One Book, One Wallingford reading program is to help bring the local community together by encouraging town residents to read a specific book and gather together to discuss both the novel and its themes. Regarding the program’s purpose, Ms. Cindy Haiken, the Readers’ Advisory Librarian at the Wallingford Public Library, said, “[these programs are] educational, of course, but they can also serve to broaden people’s understanding of complicated issues, especially when the themes of the novel have not touched their lives personally. In addition, coming together to discuss the same book is a way to create connections and break down barriers.”
This year, there have been several programs focusing on the various themes of the novel, along with a series of discussions of the book itself. One of the programs hosted was a book discussion with the Ashlar Village Book Group that was moderated by Ms. Haiken on March 3. “I usually provide a biographical overview of the author, and then, usually, I can find the interviews that the author has given when the book came out, and I share some of the quotes from those interviews. I ask people what they thought of the book, and usually, that’s enough to get the conversation going,” Ms. Haiken explained.
Ms. Leah Farrell, Head of Adult Programming and Community Service at the Wallingford Public Library, found the event “Faith and Science: An Inter-faith Discussion” to be her favorite. Serving as a moderator, she was astonished by the fascinating discussion about what faith meant to each person and was equally amazed by the amount of respect people had for each other in spite of their different beliefs.
“I went in with a certain viewpoint on the relationship between faith and science, and they all really opened my eyes to see that there isn’t a conflict. The two in their viewpoints very much support each other, and I think that that was really eye-opening for me personally, as someone who is not religious,” Ms. Farrell said.
While most of the programs have taken place at the public library with options to participate over Zoom, a few have been entirely virtual or have taken place in locations away from the library. Ms. Farrell explained, “That way, people could participate in a way that they were most comfortable with without having to miss out on the issue if they weren’t so comfortable coming in person.”
The novel Transcendent Kingdom marks the fourth reading of the One Book, One Wallingford program since its founding in 2018. In the past, the library has presented a selection of renowned books, including The Reason You’re Alive by Matthew Quick in 2018, Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart in 2019, and Furious Hours by Casey Cep in 2020. Due to the pandemic, however, the 2020 author visit was conducted on Zoom, with the program being canceled entirely the following year.
The One Book, One Wallingford Committee had to consider a variety of factors when choosing from the list of best titles curated by board members. The criteria incorporated relevant themes around which the library can organize programs and events; a book that is relatively new with a broad appeal, and willingness from the author to come to visit Wallingford.
“We do feel that we hit the jackpot with Transcendent Kingdom. The book meets every single one of the criteria … it was one of my favorite reads of 2020, and I think Gyasi is going to be one of the most important writers of her generation. We were overwhelmed when she agreed to come to visit us in Wallingford,” said Ms. Haiken.
Dr. Sherry Marrotte-Newman, the Director of the Andrew Mellon Library at Choate and member of the One Book, One Wallingford Board, explained that her decision for picking Transcendent Kingdom was heavily influenced by her consideration for the students. “When we voted on it, I was kind of making sure that it would be something that our community would also benefit from, so when picking books, it impacts how all ages can be benefitted from the book.”
Ms. Gyasi will be visiting the Paul Mellon Arts Center on April 4 for an author visit as part of the annual One Book, One Wallingford program. Free tickets for the event can be found at the Wallingford Public Library.
