Awarding-winning public radio journalist and author Naseem Rakha, who is holding a mini-workshop this Wednesday at the Anacortes Library on "Writing for Change," says a writer can build a platform with characters from diverse backgrounds and point of view. "What is the capacity for words," she asks, "to get people to think and feel empathy for situations they'd never feel" in real life?
In her debut novel "The Crying Tree," Rakha tells the story of a family nearly torn apart by the murder of a couple's 15 year old son and the eventual forgiveness of the murderer by the boy's mother. But, between the murder and his execution, Rakha said she wanted to tell the story of the victim, the murder and all the people impacted by the event.
The story's seed was planted, she said, when she was asked to cover the execution of a convicted murderer in Oregon, where she lives. She said she wanted to know more about the victims and how they felt as they waited for vengeance. She wanted to know about the execution procedure. She said she was curious the night of the execution about the people who were protesting the execution and about the people who were cheering the killer's death.
Rakha said of her readers, "My goal is to open their mind." And, she said the way to do that is to "quickly establish empathy" and ensure the story isn't a polemic. Her novel covers topics such as diversity,tolerance, migrant workers, sexual identity and the Iraq war and how these topics affect people's lives.
Naseem Rakha will spend an hour Wednesday night at the library taking a look into how the art of writing can broaden people's perspectives and help shape social change. Wed., Feb. l7, 7pm, at the Anacortes Public Library. This event is free and open to all.
Her novel, "The Crying Tree," is a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association 2010 Book Award winner. Watermark Books will have copies of "The Crying Tree" available for purchase.