Inspired by Obama, area writers step up, speak out

By JAMES F. LOWE Staff Writer

Published on August 29, 2008

Some of the region's top scribes will converge here next month to sing the praises of "writer, politician, candidate, symbol" Barack Obama and raise money for the Illinois senator's presidential campaign.

"There's a need at this time for people to speak up and take sides," said Martin Espada, an Amherst poet and professor who will speak at the event, scheduled for Sept. 21 at the Hotel Northampton. He plans to read his paean to immigrant rights, "Imagine the Angels of Bread."

Espada said that although a President Obama wouldn't transform America into the sort of utopia his poem envisions, he believes his presidency would create fertile conditions for social justice.

"He has a rather lyrical quality, which in turn motivates people ... persuades people that all is not lost," Espada said. "The greatest enemy of democracy is hopelessness."

"Writers for Obama" will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 21 in the ballroom of the Hotel Northampton, 36 King St. Suggested donations are $50 per person, $10 for students.

The 12 writers on the roster share prestige that extends well outside the Pioneer Valley, and several have won Pulitzer Prizes and other awards.

They include University of Massachusetts journalism professor Madeleine Blais and her husband, mystery writer John Katzenbach; Mount Holyoke College historian Joseph Ellis; "A Civil Action" author Jonathan Harr; novelists Elinor Lipman and Anita Shreve; and Connecticut writers Philip Caputo and Joe McGinniss.

Organized by Lisa and Gordon Tripp of Sunderland, the event will be a chance for people to hobnob with the writers and as well as invited local, state and federal politicians. The Tripps organized a similar fundraiser in Amherst in 2004 that attracted about 70 and raised $7,000 for Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign.

Lisa Tripp said she hopes 250 to 300 people will turn out next month to hear what the writers have to say about Obama.

"They've gotten the bumper stickers," Tripp said. "They're ready for the rationale ... These are highly trained people that think about things very seriously."

Two speakers - Amherst College professor William Taubman and the writer Anne Fadiman of Whately - said they had been torn between Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, but reading Obama's books cemented their support for him.

Taubman said the empathy and wisdom Obama demonstrates in "Dreams for My Father" struck him. "That's what swung me into his column," Taubman said. A biographer of Russian leaders, Taubman said he already looks forward to an aged Obama's presidential memoirs.

Fadiman, a National Book Critics Circle Award winner, said her trust for the candidate grew after she learned of the books he read and took to heart, many of which he mentions in his autobiographies.

"People's characters definitely show up in their choice of reading," said Fadiman, whose husband, memoirist George Colt, will also speak at the fundraiser.

Obama's skill and authenticity as a writer and orator are also important, Fadiman said. "He uses the English language so beautifully. Although I'm not sure that's a prerequisite for a president, it's certainly a plus."

The writers have donated signed copies of their books for purchase at the fundraiser, with all proceeds going to the campaign.

To RSVP, contact the Tripps at 665-3580, enger35@verizon.net or lftripp1@verizon.net.

People who donate $250 or more will have a chance after the presentation to mingle with the writers at a reception hosted by Richard Michelson at R. Michelson Galleries, 132 Main St.

To read Espada's poem, go to http//www.martinespada.net/imagine/htm.

James F. Lowe can be reached at jlowe@gazettenet.com.