Friday, Nov. 13, 2009
John Spevak: Notable author in Los Banos
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ReprintNext Friday an author who has been recognized by the Boston Globe, the New York Public Library, the California Library Association, and the American Library Association will be speaking in Los Baños.
Francisco Jimenez will be giving two talks that are free and open to the public: from 3 to 4 at the Los Baños Campus of Merced College and from 7 to 9 p. m. at the Ted Falasco Arts Center.
Everyone in the community, from elementary school children to senior citizens, is invited to attend. Admission is free. The event is co-sponsored by the Merced College Los Baños Campus and the Los Baños Arts Council.
Jimenez is a distinguished professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Santa Clara University. He is an author of several books, including "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child." A popular lecturer, Jimenez has given many talks in both academic and community settings.
How was such a notable author scheduled in Los Baños? The answer is Meg Withers, a professor of English at the Merced College Los Baños Campus. Meg came to know Jimenez when she was an undergraduate in the Bay Area. She heard him talk and has been determined ever since to have him speak to her students and her community.
"Francisco struck me as a soft-spoken, humble man," Meg said, "with an extraordinarily uncommon sense of himself, his history, his family, and his community. I was struck by his intelligence and the breadth and depth of his life's story."
"An immigrant from Mexico, Francisco didn't speak English until he had been in U.S. schools for several years," Meg continued. "He spent many years working alongside his family as a migrant farm worker, and then became such a successful teacher, scholar, and writer."
"I wanted him to speak to people of all backgrounds," Meg said, "but especially to the children and grandchildren of persons who've worked in the fields. He is such a great role model."
Meg has been planning this event for more than a year. In the fall of 2008 she talked with Joe Gutierrez, a local insurance agent, about finding a way to pay Francisco's standard lecture fee. Joe agreed to allocate part of the proceeds from his annual mariachi concert last December toward Jimenez's speaker's fee. Meg also received assistance from the Los Baños Arts Council.
Then Meg contacted Francisco, found a date that would work for all, and saw her dream turn into an actual speaking engagement. "I'm excited that the day is almost here," Meg said. "I hope we get an excellent turnout."
"The Circuit," Jimenez's first book, was published in 1997 by the New Mexico State University Press, then published again by larger presses in 1999 and 2000. It is a book read on many high school and college campuses, including the Los Baños Campus of Merced College. Selections from it are included in more than 50 anthologies.
"The Circuit" is a collection of short stories based on Jimenez's life as a farm worker, including the hard times, the bad times, and the good times. Meg uses the book in her English classes. "My students respond to his writing," she said. "He touches all of them in some way."
Jimenez has the unusual ability to succeed as both an outstanding scholar and a popular writer. Prior to becoming the Fay Boyle Distinguished Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures, he was also the director of the Ethnic Studies Program at Santa Clara.
Jimenez received his B.A. from Santa Clara, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Latin American literature from Columbia University, under a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. He has published several academic works on the history of Mexican-American people in the United States. He was chosen the 2002 United States Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Besides "The Circuit" he has written two children's books: "La Mariposa" (a Smithsonian Notable Book for Children) and "The Christmas Gift/El Regalo de Navida" (an illustrated bilingual book recognized as a Notable Children's Book by the American Library Association).
"Breaking Through," Jimenez's sequel to "The Circuit," was published by Houghton Mifflin in 2001 and was selected as a Booklist Editors' Choice. It continues the story of his youth, describing the challenges he and his family faced when he was a teenager. Most recently, the final book of his life story, "Reaching Out," was published last year by Houghton Mifflin, and tells of his entry into Santa Clara University, as the first person in his family to attend college.
Reviewer Susan Carlile said of Jimenez, "He has dedicated his life to encouraging communication between people with a wide range of backgrounds." She added that "his confident tranquility reveals a sharp-minded, gracious individual who has a deep compassion for people of every generation."
Autographed copies of Jimenez's books will be available for purchase after his Friday evening talk at the arts center. All of his books are available in both English and Spanish language versions.
"I am so grateful for the help of Joe Gutierrez and the Arts Council for helping to bring Francisco here," Meg said. "This is a great opportunity for all of us in Los Baños and neighboring communities to be able to listen to someone so knowledgeable, so humble, and so wise."
On another note: Congratulations to all those who worked to pass Measure A. I trust our city will now move forward, with strong police and fire protection, while working through all the other budget challenges that will come its way.
Comments on the writings of John Spevak, a regular Enterprise columnist, are encouraged and can be sent via email to spevak@telis.org.