Why a Hamilton city councillor formed a book club for his residents

By Samantha Craggs, CBC News Posted: Aug 03, 2016 11:14 AM ET Last Updated: Aug 03, 2016 11:15 AM ET      

The Illegal book club has given people an avenue to discuss and understand the refugee experience, says Coun. Matthew Green. About 22 people attended his first discussion in Ward 3.         

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." Local author Lawrence Hill wrote The Illegal, which Hamiltonians are reading part of a larger Hamilton Public Library initiative called Hamilton Reads. (CBC) 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. The Illegal won CBC's Canada Reads competition this year. 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."

About 22 people attended the first meeting. There are three more, with the next being Aug. 14.


Green says he may keep it going with a different book after The Illegal discussion is over.

Meanwhile, Hill will make an appearance at two Meet the Author library events in October — one at the central branch and one at Turner Park.
See future The Illegal discussions and events through Hamilton Public Library.

Future Ward 3 meetings (open to everybody):

• Aug. 14 — Chapters 11-20. Location to be determined. Check the Facebook page.
• Sept. 11 — Chapters 21-30. (This is the 15-year anniversary of Sept. 11 and will include a talk from No One Is Illegal — Toronto.
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