Blog Post
Civic Lessons
by Debbie G.
Could you pass the new Pilot Naturalization Exam? The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service has redesigned the test to focus on the principles of our nation rather than recitation of facts. The library has many resources to help guide you through the citizenship process.
Blog Post
"Give me your tired..."
by Maxine
On October 28, 1886, the The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor. Originally conceived by the French sculptor, Frederic Bartholdi who titled it "Liberty Enlightening the World," the statue symbolized immigrants' dreams of freedom and prosperity. Emma Lazarus' poem, "Collossus" contains the famous words inscribed inside the pedestal of the statue.
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #33
by muffy
Reyna Grande’s debut novel Across a Hundred Mountains is a stunning and poignant story of migration, loss and discovery.
Under desperate circumstances in a Tijuana jail, young Juana Garcia and teenage prostitute Adelina Vasquez met and their heartbreaking stories intertwined in the novel's alternating chapters, and re-crossed years later in the most unexpected ways. Starred review in Publishers Weekly.
A 2003 PEN Emerging Voices Fellow, Grande was born in Guerrero, Mexico. With an insider’s perspective, she puts a human face on one of the most controversial issues of our time – Mexican immigration to the United States. A writer to watch, she is currently at work on her second novel.
Blog Post
Powerful Immigration Tale
by annevm
When Sonia Nazario wrote Enrique's heart-wrenching story in the Los Angeles Times, it won two Pulitzer Prizes. Later she expanded his tale into the book Enrique's Journey, which came out earlier this year and is currently the pick of several book groups in Ann Arbor. The emotional story of Enrique traveling from Honduras to look for his mother who was working in the United States is gripping and unforgettable, including his rides - shown on the book cover - on top of freight trains in Mexico.