A Tale of Many Readers

Hold a book in your hand and you're a pilgrim at the gates of a new city.
Anne Michaels

Life-transforming ideas have always come to me through books.
Bell Hooks


Back in 1997, in North Carolina, when I was part of Appalachian State University’s faculty, I had the privilege of serving on a committee charged with creating a reading program. The notion, now commonplace in most US colleges, was to select a book for all incoming freshmen to read over the summer. Then, during orientation, led by faculty and staff volunteers, they would discuss the book in small groups.

At one of the committee’s first meetings, I nominated Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies. This sad but beautifully told story astonished me when I read it, and it was having the same effect on the students in my Latina Novel course. Of course, other equally worthy books were nominated, and after several weeks of delightful readings and often intense debates, Alvarez’s work was chosen for the honor of initiating Appalachian State’s Summer Reading Program.

Elated over the committee’s decision, and excited about introducing this remarkable Dominican-American writer to the college community, I was bewildered when, as soon as the announcement about the new program was made, several members of Appalachian State’s student government declared their opposition to it. They accused the university’s administration of acting in an authoritarian manner by requiring all entering freshmen to read a book. They also claimed that Appalachian’s current students had been slighted because they had not been represented on the committee. (The truth is that two positions had been slotted for student representatives, but their government never sent a delegate in spite of the committee’s repeated pleas.) Moreover, the student leaders argued that high school seniors deserved a well-earned rest before starting college; and they added that they didn’t see how a Summer Reading Program would benefit the academic community.

I found their opposition mystifying. Didn’t they realize that reading plays a key role in making us educated persons? And, as a teacher, the questions that most alarmed me were: what did this reluctance say about the future of reading? And, had books fallen in disfavor with younger generations?

Luckily, Vanessa Urruela, a student in my class—who also happened to be the Editor-in-Chief of The Appalachian, the student newspaper—wrote a piece defending both the program and In the Time of the Butterflies. Thanks to her editorial, the dissenting voices ceased to be strident and became mere whispers.

Julia Alvarez was invited to deliver Appalachian’s Convocation Address. And during her visit a considerable segment of the university community united around her novel. Over three-thousand persons—students, staff, and faculty—attended her presentation. The hero’s welcome stunned Julia.

The following morning, after she gave a reading from ¡Yo!, which at the time was her most recent novel, a long line of autograph seekers formed in the Student Union. It took Julia more than three hours to sign every outstretched copy of In the Time of the Butterflies.

In mine, which is something I still treasure, she wrote: For Silvio, who has given me wings! Mil gracias—de tu amiga, siempre, Julia.

The experience of spending several days with Julia Alvarez—as well as with Dedé, the surviving Mirabal sister and the event’s most honored guest—is one of the most memorable of my life. And I’ll remain forever proud of the small role I played in the birth of an admirable ritual that involves reading.

Since then, the Summer Reading Program has become a highly successful tradition. Notable authors such as Elie Wiesel, Ernest Gaines, Lee Smith, Barbara Ehrenreich, Ron Suskind, Tim O’Brien, and Rodney Barker have followed Julia’s footsteps—having their works selected and then speaking at Appalachian State’s Convocation. What’s more, many of the upperclassmen, who’ve been exposed to the program since their freshmen year, now participate willingly alongside the new arrivals.

Recently, on the internet, I stumbled across Ms. Urruela’s editorial, the one that helped quell student concerns. I’d like to share it with you.

Required reading can be beneficial
Vanessa Urruela
Editor-in-Chief
The Appalachian

"The fear is the worst part. Every time I hear footsteps coming down the hall, or the clink of the key turning in the lock, I'm tempted to curl up in one corner like a hurt animal, whimpering, wanting to be safe. But I know if I do that, I'll be giving in to a low part of myself, and I'll feel even less human. And that is what they want to do, yes, that is what they want to do." -From Maria Teresa's prison diary in the novel, In the Time of the Butterflies.

In the publicity photo of Julia Alvarez a thin gold chain peeks out from behind her collar. The way it hangs suggests that there is something dangling from it. She looks like an author, simple haircut, sparkly scarf and far away gaze. The picture got me wondering what was hanging from the chain.

When I met the author a few weeks ago I got to ask her.

"My honey designed this and gave it to me when I finished Butterflies," she said, letting the gold butterfly charm perch on her fingertips as she held it out. The butterfly had an emerald body and diamond encrusted wings. Her husband, sitting nearby, beamed at the gift's mention.

The novel she was referring to is her 1994 novel In the Time of the Butterflies. It chronicles the lives of four real-life sisters who experienced political revolution in the Dominican Republic during the 1950s. Three of the sisters, Patria, Maria Teresa and Minerva were killed by the dictator.

Though Alvarez fictionalized their true story, the novel rings with truth as she researched actual events with the help of the surviving sister Dede.

To require, or not to require...

There is much controversy on this campus about whether or not an entire incoming class of freshmen should be required to read a single novel. I sincerely believe that if any novel should be chosen, In the Time of the Butterflies is it.

This novel is based upon actual events which brought the face of democracy to the Dominican Republic. In a country where we all take our freedoms for granted, In the Time of the Butterflies offers American readers a different point of view.

There is much to be learned about political systems and theory from reading this book. The characters put a face upon revolution, something that history classes and texts don't always do. It's not fun to memorize dates or geography, but it is interesting to read about how Dominicans struggled to infiltrate the enemy and communicate without being caught.

The structure of the novel is conducive to easy reading though the topics covered aren't always easy to deal with. Alvarez writes periodically from the point of view of each of the sisters. Each passage is clearly labeled so as not to confuse the reader.

The novel begins as Dede remembers what her family was like before the revolution began. This sets up the reader's love for the characters. In The Time of the Butterflies ends with the three sisters being killed, with Dede left alone to carry on their story and their spirit.

The purpose of having the freshman class read a common text is to create a unifying thematic experience which will be incorporated into many classes and most importantly, that will be the theme for convocation.

It is important for freshmen to have some sort of unifying experience. Because I was in the Watauga College program, I was lucky enough to have such a comfortable introduction into college and the body of my peers. Most freshmen don't have that advantage. They enter college blindsided by newfound freedom and academic confusion. Having books to talk about helps people get to know one another and to better understand how they fit into their class. Reading books doesn't just provide a person with a story, it opens them up to a new framework of experience which they can ponder over and grow with.

Who is this Julia Alvarez anyway?

Silvio Sirias, my professor, arranged for our Chicana/Latina Novel class to meet with Alvarez after her recent book signing in Chapel Hill. During that meeting, she expressed her delight over the Summer Reading Program and agreed to be next year's Convocation speaker.

Though I could go on and on about how thrilled I was to meet Alvarez, I'll simply say that she is a dynamic woman who captures a reader's attention with her lively commentary and introspection. In the reading she gave, she definitely inspired the audience. Her own family fled the Dominican Republic in 1960 fearing that her father's involvement in the revolution would be discovered.

Anyone who objects to the required reading program should read the novel before they make a final decision. This text approaches many serious subjects including religion, sexuality, personal growth, politics, family dynamics and identity with grace, truth and wisdom. There is no better way to prepare incoming students for their academic, social and mental journey than in the discussions and lectures that will be held on this novel.