StoryCorps to Come to Alexandria, Part of ‘All Alexandria Reads’

StoryCorps will be in Alexandria May 20 through 22 as part of a month-long celebration of community reading through the All Alexandria Reads program.

This year’s featured book will be “Listening is an Act of Love: A Celebration of American Life from the StoryCorps Project.” The book is a collection of compelling excerpts from more than 10,000 interviews recorded and was selected by the library planning committee, said Renee DiPilato, central library manager

“We chose this particular book because we really liked all of the different themes,” DiPilato told Patch. “We thought we could have a number of community programs to complement the themes in the book. They’re great stories about family, stories from immigrants. It’s just a great book to read. It’s really heartwarming.”

The oral history stories are told in vignettes and grouped by themes including home and family, work and dedication, journeys, history and struggle and “fire and water”—stories from the Sept. 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina.

Programs surrounding the community read will begin at the end of April and take place throughout May. This is the sixth year of the community reading program in Alexandria. Copies of the book will be available at each library and on audiobook.

Events are listed on the library’s events calendar.

The goal is to create a shared experience through reading, DiPilato said. “We love the idea our community is going to come to around one book, and they’ll read that book and share it and hopefully have some new learning experiences by participating in the program,” she said.

Book discussion groups will be held at 7 p.m. May 13 at the Barrett branch, at 7 p.m. May 15 at the Duncan branch, 7 p.m. May 20 at the Beatley Central Library and at 7 p.m. May 23 at the Burke branch.

The library’s foundation and library friends group have helped make many All Alexandria Reads activities possible.