The Sonoma Student Union InterCultural Center is proud to host "Imagining Peace and Community in a Time of Violence and Chaos: An Evening With Luis Rodriguez" at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 15, in the Cooperage.
Rodriguez is best known for the 1993 memoir of gang life, "Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A." An international best seller, the memoir also garnered a Carl Sandburg Literary Award, a Chicago Sun-Times Book Award, and was designated a New York Times "Notable Book".
Written as a cautionary tale for Rodriguez's then 15-year-old son Ramiro - who had joined a Chicago gang -the memoir is popular among youth and teachers. Despite this, the American Library Association in 1999 called "Always Running" one of the ten most censored books in the United States. Efforts to remove his books from public school libraries and reading lists have occurred in Illinois, Michigan, Texas, and more recently in California, where the battles were quite heated.
The discussion on April 15, says Rodriguez will "start with my own experiences as well those from people I've worked with over the years. I don't preach 'anti-gang,' but by telling these stories and their results, I hope to teach about choice, their own value as human beings, and what to do in crisis."
Drugs and gangs don't exist in a vacuum, he says "but a truly aware, attentive, cohesive and caring community is the best way to deal with the rise of gangs and drugs."
Rodriguez has emerged as one of the leading Chicano writers in the country with eight nationally published books in memoir, children's literature and poetry. Luis Rodriguez's most recent books are "Hearts and Hands: Creating Community in Violent Times" and a short story collection,"The Republic of East LA: Stories."
The Sonoma Student Union InterCultural Center, the School of Social Sciences, Associated Students, and Instructionally Related Activities are sponsors of the event.
Admission in free for SSU students, $10 for SSU faculty and staff, and $15 for general admission. Special seating and admission to the VIP reception following the talk can be purchased for $75. Tickets are available at the Sonoma Student Union Front Desk (707) 664-2382.
For more information on these or other ICC events, phone (707) 664-2537, or online at www.sonoma.edu/ICC.
NOTE TO MEDIA: To request an interview, contact Steven Barclay Agency at (707) 773-0654.
