On the surface, it sounds unorthodox — a politician running a book club?
'It brings the community together to have difficult conversations about displaced people, migrants, race, religion and gender. That's all incumbent on civic leaders.'- Matthew Green, city councillor
But in Hamilton's Ward 3, that's exactly what's happening. And everyone is reading
The Illegal by Hamilton's Lawrence Hill.
Matthew Green, city councillor, says the book resonates in his ward, with its large population of new Canadians, including some of the
nearly 1,000 government-assisted Syrian refugees who have arrived in Hamilton since late last year. So he's holding four book club events in an effort to build empathy and a sense of community.
It's not necessarily the job of a politician. Typically, they deal with weightier matters — tax increases, infrastructure, $1 billion transit decisions.
But
The Illegal is a way to discuss and understand the refugee experience through a work of fiction, Green said. And that's useful too.
"It's really not the job of an elected official, but it certainly fits with the background I come from," he said of the book club.
"And it brings the community together to have difficult conversations about displaced people, migrants, race, religion and gender. That's all incumbent on civic leaders."
Green's book club is part of a larger Hamilton Public Library effort called
Hamilton Reads 2016.
The library is holding discussions about
The Illegal around the city, said Laura Lukasik, manager of communications and partnerships. And Hill is participating. Green is the only politician to start his own discussion group.
'Certainly the diversity of our city is reflected in this book.'- Laura Lukasik, Hamilton Public Library
The Illegal is timely with the arrival of the new Syrian-Canadians, Lukasik said.
"There are a lot of good touch points," Lukasik said, "and certainly the diversity of our city is reflected in this book."
In
The Illegal, Keita Ali is a marathon runner from the fictional country of Zantoroland, a country where boatloads of refugees flee to the large, affluent Freedom State, a country with a history built in part by Zantoroland slaves.
That sort of story speaks to the people in Green's racially and economically diverse lower-city ward. And discussing them through a book takes the heat off.
'It's a safe space because it's hypothetical. It uses fictional countries to work through the complexities.'- Matthew Green
"It's a safe space because it's hypothetical," Green said. "It uses fictional countries to work through the complexities."
"There were so many different people excited about the author and the book. I think they understood what was at stake for our city, and its applicability."
