Dominican’s Butler Children’s Literature Center to commemorate 9/11 with Kinship Exhibit

The attacks on 9/11 had an undeniably divisive effect on our global society. Countries took up arms against each other. Political parties argued over responses. Neighbors differed in their opinions on the tragedy. But it’s the sense of unity that arose through shared loss and responsibility – kinship – that is the focus of a commemorative exhibit opening Sunday, September 11 at Dominican University’s Butler Children’s Literature Center.

“Outpourings of support and service from across the globe brought people together in a collective response to this tragedy,” said Thom Barthelmess, curator of the Butler Center. “What connected us was our shared loss, and we found solace in our shared responsibility to help others.”

That sense of universal connection is the inspiration for the Kinship Project, the Butler Center’s inaugural exhibit, which will open with a public reception at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 11, 2011 the 10^th anniversary of the attacks. The occasion also marks the opening of the Butler Center’s permanent location, on the third floor of Dominican’s Rebecca Crown Library.

The exhibit showcases a collection of 29 books for young people, each of which was written within the past 10 years and represents a variation on the theme of kinship.

“With our opening falling on the 10^th anniversary of 9/11, rather than doing something about war or terrorism, we elected to do something that celebrates those things that connect us,” Barthelmess said. “Each book gives its own insight into kinship, and the collection as a whole provides a comprehensive overview on the definition of relationship.”

Among the featured books are:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, which relates the struggles of Arnold "Junior" Spirit, an outcast on both his native Spokane Indian Reservation and at the rich white high school to which he transfers. Through Arnold’s coming-of-age story, the reader understands that belonging is the first step toward a sense of community and that our ability to face life’s challenges depends upon the mutual support of such community.

Every Soul a Star by Wendy Maas, a story that depicts the convergence of thousands of people to a campsite to witness a solar eclipse. Among those transformed by the experience are three very different 13-year olds. The bond formed by the three teens speaks to how the journey of self-discovery also lays a path to connect with others.

Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting by Jim Murphy, recounts the true story of the impromptu outbreak of peace at Christmas, 1914 on the front lines of the First World War. Sick, tired and disillusioned, troops on both sides of the trenches put down their weapons to tend to casualties, bury the fallen, and even exchange gifts.

All the World, a poem by Liz Garton Scanlon and illustrated by Marla Frazee Beach, focuses on the intertwined experiences of a small coastal community. Together, in sequence, the images add a narrative arc to the poem they illustrate, following a path and stopping along the way to meet members of a community of shared experience.

Barthelmess will speak at 3 p.m. The public is invited to explore the exhibit and the larger center.

On Tuesday, September 15, a panel discussion on the Kinship Project will feature several speakers, each discussing their reflections on a book from the collection. Jill Bambenek, public service librarian at the university’s Rebecca Crown Library, will moderate the panel. The public is invited to participate in the interactive panel.

For more information about either event, contact Barthelmess at (708) 524-6861 or tbarthelmess@dom.edu.

Established in 2009, the Butler Children’s Literature Center at Dominican University is one of the nation’s premier centers for the study of children’s and young adult literature in the services of literacy, learning and a life-long love of reading. The center is a partnership of the Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences, the School of Education, the Rebecca Crown Library, and the Butler Family Foundation.

Founded in 1901, Dominican University is a comprehensive, coeducational Catholic institution offering 50 undergraduate academic programs and 34 graduate programs through the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, the Brennan School of Business, the School of Education, the Graduate School of Social Work, and the School of Continuing Studies, as well as a doctorate in library science. In the 2011 issue of America’s Best Colleges, U.S. News & World Report ranked Dominican University in the top 20 Midwest master’s level universities and one of the Midwest’s “Great Schools at a Great Price.”