Photo by Morgan Grana

Vernon Legakis will load 20 books in waterproof plastic bags onto the front of his surfboard and paddle into Cowell Cove on Monday morning. There he will hand the books out to fellow surfers as part of World Book Night, a global event promoting literacy and the written word.

“We figured we would be the only surfing bookseller in the country by doing this,” said Casey Coonerty Protti, event organizer and Bookshop Santa Cruz owner. “Part of the idea of World Book Night is to make the idea of reading books a fun thing.”

Local organizations including the Santa Cruz public libraries and Bookshop Santa Cruz will be participating in World Book Night on April 23.

The event began in the United Kingdom in 2011 and spread to the United States this year. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Book and Copyright Day, April 23, falls on the date of birth and death of English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. Santa Cruz City Council plans to officially declare April 23, 2012 as World Book Day in Santa Cruz.

The event is centered on the idea that a single book can inspire a lifetime of appreciation for the written word.

“One book can change a person’s life and make a person a reader,” said Coonerty Protti, who brought the event to Santa Cruz.

On World Book Night, volunteers will hand out free books to people across the county who may not identify as recreational readers. Volunteers select a book to distribute from a diverse list of 30 special-edition books donated by the authors and publishers.

Legakis will also be handing out books at the historic Santa Cruz Lighthouse.

“The world of literature is as massive as the ocean,” Legakis said. “But still, it’s wonderful to shake hands with some of these authors, in a way, to meet them on the page.”  

The aquatic division of World Book Night will be handing out Patti Smith’s memoir “Just Kids.”

“A lot of people think of surfers as not being well-read, and we want to dispel that myth,” Coonerty Protti said.

World Book Night has been making waves in the publishing industry, Coonerty Protti said. “[Nationally], 25,000 volunteers will give away half a million books. Most of the volunteers asked for a particular book to give away. You’re supposed to pick a book that you loved and that you want to share with others.”

For some volunteers, the selection of books is extremely personal.

Coonerty Protti chose to deliver copies of “The History of Love” by Nicole Krauss to the nursing home that housed her grandmother. The novel explores themes of family and ancestry.

“I thought it would be nice to go deliver that book to the nursing home and bring my daughter with me to make it a kind of multi-generational thing, in response to the book,” Coonerty Protti said.

One volunteer is city council member David Terrazas. Terrazas will be distributing the novel “Kindred” by Octavia Butler in the Louden-Nelson Community Center.

“It’s an amazing story that deals with racial themes,” Terrazas said.

Louden Nelson Community Center is home to two alternative high school programs organized through the County Office of Education.

“There’s going to be a classroom there on site that I’m going to distribute books to, and they’re going to use this as part of their curriculum,” Terrazas said. “Plus it’s right adjacent to a park, and I think some of the best reading can be done during your leisure under a tree.”

This is the first annual World Book Night in Santa Cruz, and it will likely be the precursor for many more to come.

“Reading will always be a part of our culture,” Terrazas said, “and I think days like this help to ensure that the readers of tomorrow continue our traditions today, and can continue these traditions moving forward.”

Illustration by Patrick Yeung.

America’s social landscape has undergone a severe transformation in the 45 years since the civil rights movement. While institutionalized race discrimination and anti-miscegenation have been repudiated in American society, the legacy of the Jim Crow era and racism linger on in the American psyche, and race as a topic remains taboo to many people.

“People try to ignore race because it makes them uncomfortable,” said Cabrillo College student Alex Moreno, who plans on attending Bookshop Santa Cruz’s upcoming book reading. “As children we’re taught not to focus on it.”

Bookshop Santa Cruz seeks to examine why race remains a taboo by hosting a reading and Q&A session with National Public Radio host Michele Norris about her book, “The Grace of Silence.”

In writing the book, Norris, the host of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” sought to shed light on the perceptions of race and its evolution in America, particularly in light of Barack Obama’s presidency. Her approach changed after several interview participants responded hesitantly to questions about race. After she gleaned that reluctance is common in those asked to speak about their perceptions of race, she asked her family for help. She thought that by making it more personal, she would figure out where that apprehension came from. The project subsequently turned into a memoir.

Norris’ project, which began in the months prior to the 2008 presidential election, was intended to provoke conversation about race in America and the public’s personal opinions about the possibility of America having its first non-white president. Norris came to find that when confronted with questions about race, many people chose to remain silent.

“A lot of people would rather keep their mouths shut than talk about something sensitive like race,” Moreno said, reflecting on why Norris was met with silence with regards to her questions about the topic of race. “[Norris] is questioning why people get silent,” he said.

In the introduction of her book, Norris said that her interest in the topic was piqued when she realized that the unwillingness to discuss race was something that her family shared with many of the people she was interviewing. When she questioned the silence, she uncovered a painful secret in her father’s past: He had been shot by a police officer.

Norris changed the approach of her sociopolitical study to reflect her personal and familial experiences with avoiding race as a topic of conversation. This endeavor encouraged Norris to write her study of American racial perceptions as a memoir instead, one that included her personal story and how it was a result of the unwillingness of many people to discuss race.

Despite the many reasons for silence with regards to race, some people believe that this suppression of discussion can be overcome.

Susan McCloskey, Bookshop Santa Cruz’s events coordinator said Santa Cruz is an open community that “embraces silence in order to be politically correct.”

“In ‘The Grace of Silence,’ Norris mentions how older generations of people are less willing to discuss race,” McCloskey said. “I think students and young people are willing to start dialogues about tough topics to improve and educate society.”

Local NPR affiliate radio station KUSP is also playing a part in the discussion on race in America. Rick Kleffel, KUSP station personality, will attend the book reading and Q&A session to take part in the dialogue about race.

“This event and ‘The Grace of Silence’ are all about getting people out of their own heads,” Kleffel said. “Reading Norris’ book and many other books will expose people to other experiences and give them things to consider. Learning about the situations and opinions of others can aid the learning process and contribute to conversations about the event, and society as a whole.”

Kleffel further expounded on how Norris’ book contributes to the overall discussion of race in the country.

“If a person combines knowledge of their own experiences with the things that they can learn from Norris’ book or other books they can form new opinions based on what they’ve learned,” Kleffel said. “Events like this one can really engage a community.”

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The book reading and dialogue session will be held this Sunday at Bookshop Santa Cruz, at 1520 Pacific Ave., from 7 to 9 p.m.

Bookshop Santa Cruz, a downtown fixture since 1966, has opened the submission period for its annual photography contest with hopes that more UCSC students will enter the competition this year. Photo by Kathryn Power.

Every year, Bookshop Santa Cruz holds a series of contests in which aspiring authors and photographers can convey their visions to the local community — and every year, the staff at Bookshop Santa Cruz is blown away by the submissions. May 25 marks the beginning of the submission period for this year’s photography contest, which is already a source of excitement for Bookshop Santa Cruz employees.

“The images are all really creative, and the bulk of them are taken by amateur photographers,” said Casey Coonerty, Bookshop Santa Cruz owner and manager. Her family has owned the independent bookstore since 1973.

The annual photography contest will conclude by celebrating its 16th birthday in autumn 2010. Students, locals, and anyone else interested in participating are encouraged to send in an image that displays a unique visual representation of what it means to read.

The photo contest — which receives at least 100 submissions annually—calls for a unique expression of reading. Those who are eager to express their ideas are also drawn by the prizes offered to the first, second, and third place winners, which include gift certificates of $250, publishing of submissions online, and a display of submissions in the store.

Takaki Metoki, a Santa Cruz local who has participated in the contest in the past, was eager to get started on his submission for this year’s competition.

“I’ve been brainstorming ideas, but I don’t have a really definite idea right now,” he said.

According to Coonerty, past submissions have been extremely varied. Coonerty has seen pictures taken in places all over the world, from shantytowns in developing countries to right here in Santa Cruz.

Bookshop Santa Cruz employees have expressed an interest in seeing more participation from UC Santa Cruz students in the contest.

“Students offer ideas that reflect their place in the community,” said Adrienne Mages, a Bookshop Santa Cruz employee. “I think we’d all like to have more students get involved in the contest.”

Employees look forward to judging the photos and selecting a winner. Submissions are due on September 1, which allows ample time to select a photo for submission. Coonerty also said that the Bookshop accepts submissions via U.S. mail so that the contest is more accessible to community members at a distance. Literary enthusiasts are encouraged to apply.