This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Words on the Immigrant Experience

Three authors covered the immigrant experience from that of Russian Jewish emigres to the difficulties of being young and Arab in America. In between, myths about Ellis Island and immigration to America were debunked.

The first wintry evening of the season on Saturday coincided with the first author readings on the theme of the immigrant experience at Words bookstore, part of a larger series under the heading of "Diversity in America."

The weather took its toll on the night's turn-out, but not on the enthusiasm of the readers or the audience discussion that followed. At Sunday afternoon's reading, with sunny and brisk weather outside, the bookstore was buzzing, rows of seats were occupied, and more folding chairs had to be added.

"You're lucky to have such a bookstore," Maxim Shrayer, author of "Waiting for America: A Story of Emigration," said on Saturday night.

Find out what's happening in Maplewoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Shrayer and his wife drove to Maplewood from Massachusetts, where he is the chairman of Slavic and Eastern Languages Department and co-founder of the Jewish Studies Program at Boston College. His book, a literary memoir, focuses on the period of transit from Russia to the United States, when his identity was in flux.

"We emigrated from Moscow, but hadn't immigrated," Shrayer said. His family spent nine years as 'refuseniks,' trying to leave the then, Soviet Union, where they were subjected to religious and intellectual persecution. Finally, he, his parents, aunt, cousin and grandmother left in 1987, but they spent six months in Vienna, Rome, and the coastal resort of Ladispole, Italy, where thousands and thousands of Soviet Jews waited for refugee visas.

Find out what's happening in Maplewoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He was a twenty-year old poet, experiencing freedom for the first time, though "even a sun tan had refugee anxiety."

Shrayer read a humourous excerpt, "Napoleon at San Marino," that featured his feisty grandmother, poignant because, as he mentioned, she had passed away three weeks ago at the age of 95. The lively discussion that followed was moderated by Marina Budhos, a resident of Maplewood, who has written books about the immigrant experience. 

Following Shrayer was Vincent Cannato, author of "American Passage: The History of Ellis Isand." Cannato teaches history at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, and wrote "The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and His Struggle to Save New York."

Cannato said he was interested in writing a biography of a place and debunking some of the myths about it. "I wanted to look at Ellis Island dispassionately. What really happened there?" he said.

From hosting pirate hangings in the 19th century, to its iconic status as American's main entry point for 12 million immigrants from 1892-1924, to its use as a detention center for aliens during WWII and the Cold War, to its enshrinement as a national monument, the history of this Ellis Island represents America's complex and contradictory ideas about immigration.

After the reading, Cannato signed books, and, warmed with coffee and tea served for the first time at the back of the bookstore, listeners went off into the slushy night.

On Sunday, with weather more favorable, all of the seats in Words were filled and more were added, as Moustafa Boyoumi discussed his book, "How Does It Feel To Be A Problem? Being Young and Arab in America." Boyoumi lives and works in Brooklyn, home to America's largest population of Arab Americans. He described the process of finding young people to interview for the portraits in his book. The stories he heard illustrated how individual lives are effected by foreign policy, and how cultural misunderstandings are navigated.

"The book isn't a downer," Boyoumi said. "It's stories of struggle."

For information about future readings in the "Diversity" series, check the Words website.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?