Announcements
Thanks to all who came to the 1C1S event! Everything went wonderfully-the audience discussion, Richard Russo's comments, and Alicia Anstead's moderation!
We are happy the community took advantage of all we offered this year: library discussions, distribution at public events, businesses, and organizations, an online and audio download, Chinese, Portuguese, and Spanish translations, discussion questions, and writing prompts/contests. We really enjoyed ourselves and we hope you did too.
Speaking of contests the 1C1S contest winner is...
The Boy Who Cried Wolf by Patrick Barrett
About 1C1S
The mission of the Boston Book Festival is to celebrate the power of words, to promote a culture of literature and ideas and to enhance the vibrancy of the city of Boston, and in 2010 we launched One City One Story to do just that. One City One Story is the BBF’s version of an all-city read, but instead of a book, we print and distribute a short story. Our goal is to make a short story available to all free of charge, to spread the joy of reading for pleasure among the teens and adults of our city, and to create a community around a shared reading experience.
The Story and Its Author
The pick for One City One Story this year is "The Whore’s Child" by Richard Russo. It was originally published in 2002 as the title story in Russo's only collection of short fiction.
Richard Russo, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls, has always had strong Boston ties. Much of his work takes place in the Northeast, and his most recent novel, That Old Cape Magic, is set largely on Cape Cod. After teaching at The University of Southern Illinois, The Iowa Writer’s Workshop, and Colby College, he now lives with his wife in Maine and Boston, where he is a beloved member of the local literary community.
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Background
In 2010, One City One Story’s inaugural year, we distributed thousands of free copies of Tom Perrotta’s story, “The Smile on Happy Chang’s Face,” offered online translations and downloads, and led citywide discussions leading up to a town-hall style discussion with the author at the Boston Book Festival.
We are honored that Richard Russo will join us at this year’s Boston Book Festival on October 15 in Copley Square for a special session. He’ll participate in what is sure to be an engaging conversation about the story, bringing together readers from all corners of the city for a town-hall style discussion facilitated by Alicia Anstead. In the weeks leading up to the BBF, bound copies of the story will be printed and distributed at libraries, bookstores, farmer’s markets, T stations, and other places throughout Greater Boston. We’ll also be facilitating neighborhood discussion groups and posting downloadable translations of “The Whore’s Child.” Keep your eye right here to see where you can pick up your own copy—for free!
Download the Story
English
Download PDF
Portugese
Download PDF
Spanish
Download PDF
Chinese
Download PDF
Find the Story
Local Places and Events
1C1S attended citywide events, passed the booklets out at T-stations, local businesses and organizations, and all Boston Public Libraries.
Participate
Local Discussions
Discussions were held at The West End, Roslindale, Honan-Allston, and Faneuil Branches of the Boston Public Library leading up to the festival.
Discussion Questions
1. "The Whore's Child" is written as a story within a story that, at the same time, deconstructs the art of storytelling. Why do you think it was told in this way?
2. Sister Ursula tells her story linearly and in full, but the narrator's story is given in pieces. What aspects of Sister Ursula's story highlight the narrator's and vice versa? What would be missed if the narrator's personal life weren't sewn into the story? How does the combination of both stories add richness and complexity to the overall piece?
3. Do you think the act of telling her story allows Sister Ursula to reconcile her past? Why or why not?
4. The story poses a question: "If [a character] doesn't participate in [his] her own destiny, where's the story?" The story's discussion concludes that it is not good to be a victim-"not in stories, not in life." Do you see Sister Ursula as a victim? Why or why not?
5. How do both Sister Ursula's experience and the narrator's question the standard definition of morality (i.e., principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior) and its institutional embodiment?
6. What does your reaction to each circumstance in the story (the nuns' treatment of Sister Ursula, her unfortunate circumstances, the narrator's past and present actions) say about how a story (and its details) can shape the way a person, place, thing, or incident (even the past) is perceived, and thus how Sister Ursula shaped her own past?
7. The narrator, as Sister Ursula's teacher, attempts to teach her how to shape her story in specific ways. How does Sister Ursula shape and manipulate her past accordingly? How does the narrator's shaping of himself as a character affect our perception of him?
8. Both the narrator and Sister Ursula edit their own life stories. How is this similar to an author writing a story?
9. Have you experienced a conflict between how you remember the past as compared to how others remember it? Maybe the details around events in the past fade or are highlighted based on a present situation. How does the new information (the conflict between things remembered, a faded or highlighted detail) change your outlook on the past?
10. Both in this story and in general, how does a lie create fiction, and where does the truth come in?
Downloadable 1C1S Discussion Questions
Writing Prompt
Write a story in four paragraphs (roughly 500-700 words). Easy, right? Here's the twist: each paragraph has to start with a specific opening that we tweaked from Richard Russo's "The Whore's Child."
The guidelines are as follows:
The story can no more than four paragraphs (roughly 500-700 words)
The first paragraph must begin, "I was known as..."
The second paragraph must begin, "And so I became a..."
The third paragraph must begin, "It was my _______ that drew me deeper into the..."
The fourth paragraph must begin, "My life as _______ has been one of terrible...
Enter the writing contest by emailing your submission to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with "1C1S Writing Contest" in the subject bar. If your story is chosen you win a goodie bag of BBF swag--a tote bag, a t-shirt, a water bottle, a full set of BBF bookmarks, and a copy of 1C1S signed by Russo.
The submission deadline is October 10th by 3pm.
Additional Readings
The Whore's Child and Other Stories, by Richard Russo
Empire Falls, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Richard Russo
The Memoir Project from Grub Street
Writing for therapy helps erase effects of trauma from CNN, by Chris Woolston
Contact
Ask a question. Let us know what you think.
The Boston Book Festival
2 Canal Park
Cambridge, MA 02141
P: 617-252-3249
E: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
FB: 1C1S
T: @bostonbookfest (#1C1S)
Media
News media requiring additional information should contact:
Joyce Linehan
Ashmont Media
T: (617) 282-2510
E: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Press
October 9, 2011 Article about 1C1S at Boston.com
October 7, 2011 Article about 1C1S at ojornal.com
September 30, 2011 Article about 1C1S at tech.mit.edu
June 20, 2011 1C1S Announcement on Boston.com
June 21, 2011 Interview with Richard Russo at Boston Phoenix
June 21, 2011 On-air interview with Richard Russo on Radio Boston, WBUR
One City One Story Project Manager
Katie Lynn Murphy
1C1S Committee
Callie Crossley, Ladette Randolph, Christina Thompson, Henriette Lazaridis Power.
Readers
Akshay Ahuja, Alicia Anstead, Elisa Birdseye, Kate Brown, Alice Hennesey, Mark Krone, Vivien Morris, Sheila Scott, Betty Southwick, and the staff of WriteBoston.