PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — For the 20th year, Philadelphia’s city-wide reading program has selected the one book it wants residents to read together.
The One Book, One Philadelphia program, through the Free Library of Philadelphia, encourages both reading and civic dialogue.
"The main goal of the program is really to get people reading the same book, and to be able to come together through discussion around that book," One Book, One Philadelphia Program Director Brittanie Sterner said.
For this year, organizers of the program selected My Broken Language, by Quiara Alegría Hudes.
"It’s her memoir of growing up in Philadelphia in the 80s and 90s," said Sterner.
"It’s gorgeously written. It’s lyrical. It’s intimate, poetic. I think the thing that resonated most for the committee was the opportunity for Philadelphians to see themselves reflected in the book."
Sterner said that mainstream media often has a lot of silence around the stories and experiences of Philadelphia's Black and brown communities.
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"They are often made to be invisible and this book is, as the author calls it, an indictment of that," Sterner detailed.
"She has this quote I think about a lot, 'In telling our family's story, I sense for the first time the possibility of healing of forging love from affliction war.”
One Book, One Philadelphia runs from April 27 to June 15, with free events where you can get a free copy of the book.
Click here for more information.
