Gaithersburg READS update: our program, the controversy, and Reyna Grande

Dear GBF friends,

I first want to make clear who’s writing this: this is Jud Ashman, Mayor of Gaithersburg, Founder & Chair of the Gaithersburg Book Festival. While there may be members of the City Council, City Staff, Book Festival Committee, and others who agree with me – and others who don’t – this should be taken as a statement from me, as an individual.

It has now been about 4 weeks since “American Dirt” was published and you may have noticed that we haven’t posted about it here on our website or on social media since its January 21 launch.

The Controversy

You probably know why. On the very day “American Dirt” was published, after six months of  positive buzz, reviews, and accolades, after we’d launched it as our inaugural Gaithersburg READS book selection (at my suggestion), and after Oprah announced it as her monthly Book Club pick that morning, a significant controversy erupted.

Among the concerns:

• The way the book had been promoted by its publisher;
• The way it symbolized a widely perceived disparity between the treatment of writers of color versus the treatment of white writers by the publishing industry and the media;
• Questions about the artistic license of an author who hadn’t actually lived the immigrant experience; and
• Flaws in the execution of the novel, including the usage of Mexican dialect, inaccurate details in the settings of various scenes of the book, and the usage of stereotypes in creating the characters.

(If you’d like to read deeper into all elements of the controversy, a simple Google search of “American Dirt” will yield lots of reports and opinions.)

I Didn’t See It Coming…

The controversy caught me off guard. I’d read an advance copy of “American Dirt” back in July of 2019 and I really enjoyed the book. We knew Jeanine Cummins; she grew up in Gaithersburg, graduated from Gaithersburg High School, and had appeared at our Festival a few years ago for an earlier novel. (In fact, her family has deep roots here; her late father Gene Cummins was a decorated veteran and, among other things, a deacon at St. Martin’s and St. John Neumann Catholic Churches and actually brought about the first Spanish-language services in the area which, notably, served a large number of immigrant families in our community.)

While I thought a discussion about our society’s attitudes toward, and perceptions of, immigrants could potentially be highly-charged, where better to have such a discussion than here in a city where roughly a third of our residents were born in a country other than the United States? And, while I am indeed a white guy, and I acknowledge that I probably have some blind spots, I’d noted the early endorsements of “American Dirt” by prominent Latina writers, such as Sandra Cisneros, Julia Alvarez, and Reyna Grande, and thus the book didn’t raise any red flags for me at the time.

Since the controversy erupted, members of the Book Festival planning team, City staff and I have been following everything very closely. We saw the news that the publisher cancelled Jeanine’s book tour due to security concerns. (This didn’t affect us directly, by the way, because our event was separate from the formal book tour.)  And we’ve been carefully considering all points of view as we debate our next move.

Here’s Where We’ve Landed

We are moving forward with our Gaithersburg READS program. We hope you’ll participate, read the book, and join us for our program on March 31 at Gaithersburg High School, where we hope you’ll share your perspective.

I believe the controversy actually gives our March 31 event added relevance and cultural value to the community. We’d envisioned our program, all along, to be a conversation between the novelist, Jeanine Cummins, and someone who’d actually lived the migrant experience. And that “someone” isn’t just “anyone.” Around the time we were conceiving Gaithersburg READS, we’d reached out to invite Reyna Grande to be part of it. We’re delighted that she accepted, and that she has reaffirmed her attendance in the midst of the controversy.

Our Surprise Guest: Reyna Grande

Reyna Grande is a beloved Mexican American author whose heart-wrenching memoir, “The Distance Between Us,” told the harrowing story of her own real-life immigrant experience. It is a remarkable book and not only elevated Reyna in the esteem of the literary world, but earned serious critical acclaim. It was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award, winner of the 2015 Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Chicano/Latino Literature, and, closer to home, was the 2014 One Maryland, One Book selection. Her writing voice is as powerful as it gets. If you haven’t read “The Distance Between Us,” I highly recommend reading it in advance of our event.

(As an aside, Reyna recently wrote a piece for the New York Times, weighing-in on the “American Dirt” controversy. I found it thoughtful and powerfully written. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/opinion/sunday/american-dirt-book-mexico.html)

A Rare and Compelling Opportunity to Judge for Yourself

Given the cancellation of Cummins’ national book tour, our Gaithersburg READS event gives the people of our community the unique opportunity to read the books of both authors, ask questions, and be part of the conversation themselves.

As I write this, “American Dirt” is the #1 New York Times best-seller, it is #1 on the Indie Next list (a national compendium of the most-recommended books at independent bookstores), and it is #8 on Amazon. People are interested in the book, which I think makes our program that much more compelling.

The mission of the Gaithersburg Book Festival has always been to foster an interest in reading, writing and literary conversation. This program checks all of those boxes.

We are working with both authors on the full shape of the conversation and program but, clearly, the controversy has enlarged it. Stay tuned for updates.

Will You Join Us?

I remain excited about this program. I believe that our community – with our cultural diversity, with our rich history, with our commitment to the arts and humanities, and with the thoughtfulness of our residents – is the perfect place to do it.

Our Gaithersburg READS program with Jeanine Cummins and Reyna Grande promises to be an outstanding cultural opportunity. Please join the conversation on Tuesday, March 31 at 7 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center at Gaithersburg High School. Doors will open at 6pm – seating is first come, first served.