By Greg Glassner
CP Correspondent
Reading a book may be the last thing you think of in the month of March, a time when spring finally gets here and we emerge from our winter cocoons.
For this reason alone, it may be the perfect time to remind us that our excellent Caroline County libraries are much more than a repository for books.
Caroline Reads is the Caroline Library’s month-long community-wide celebration of events and activities that support reading and build awareness of cultural and historically significant events.
This year’s focus is on Japanese history, culture, and the unique experiences of loyal Americans who were interned in World War II concentration camps for the simple reason that they resembled the enemy and had Japanese names.
A few residents of Caroline County have visited Japan on vacations or business trips or in military service, but for many it is a distant land that produces excellent cars and electronics and brought us sushi, saki, and tempura.
Caroline Library Director Maureen Dorosinski became aware of this when one of the library’s book clubs read a book about the WWII internment of Japanese-Americans and again when she mentioned that sad chapter in American history at Fort A.P. Hill’s Earth Day and “a gentleman there thought I was talking about the Jewish concentration camps,” Dorosinski said.
“I looked at books that are suggested for community-wide reads of this type and saw ‘When the Emperor Was Divine,’ by Julie Otsuka. … This event was a long time in the making, and it took a lot of networking and digging to find just the right people to contact to build interest, but once I did, it flourished,” Dorosinski said.
Otsuka’s book will be the community-wide read, and it will culminate in a main discussion at 1 p.m., Saturday, March 21, at the Ladysmith branch. Randolph-Macon College History Professor Todd Munson will facilitate the discussion and will also give an origami demonstration. An authority on Japan, Dr. Munson notes he also “folds a mean paper crane.”
Another Reading Month highlight will be a talk by author Ann McClellan at 4 p.m., Saturday, March 14 at the Caroline Community Services Center auditorium near Bowling Green. McClellan wrote “Cherry Blossoms: The Official Book of the National Cherry Blossom Festival” and “The Cherry Blossom Festival, Sakura Celebration.”
“Ann McClellan had so many great reviews on her public speaking and talks, it was natural to try and get her into the area. She loves what she does with the cherry blossom trees and has received a commendation from the government of Japan for her work,” Dorosinski said.
The concluding event of Caroline Reads will be a lecture by Lily Anne Yumi Welty Tamai, the Curator of History at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. This will take place at 4 p.m., Saturday, March 28 at the Caroline Community Services Center auditorium.
Dr. Tamai will discuss the Japanese American experience during World War II, their immigration history, issues of family, gender and race, legal policy and the incarceration camps.
Other events throughout March will include screenings at branch libraries of the documentary, “The Legacy of Heart Mountain,” which tells the story of one WWII internment camp filled with 10,000 Japanese Americans behind barbed wire and armed guards.
In addition, Caroline Reads will sponsor adult and children crafts sessions. The tweens/teens will learn how to make Koinobori Japanese Flying Carp, and the adults, Japanese Heraldry coasters. There will also be a Haiku contest for poetry lovers and art displays from the National Gallery of Art’s exhibit, Edo: Art in Japan, 1615-1868.
Look for more programming details at your Caroline Library, Inc., branches or check the websites at www.carolinelibrary.org and carolinelibraryreads.weebly.com.