By Mackenzie Davis
Robin Wall Kimmerer, the author of the 2013 book ‘Braiding Sweetgrass,’ will be attending a virtual event hosted by Grand Rapids Community College on Thursday, March 20. From 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Filled with a mixture of her knowledge of botany, personal experiences and indigenous teachings, this book has won numerous awards, was a New York Times bestseller for three years, and now has been selected as GRCC’s Campus Common Reading for the 2024-2025 school year.
“Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift,” wrote Kimmerer in her book “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants.”
The Campus Common Reading, or CCR, allows GRCC students to nurture their love of reading and expand their perspective for free. Copies of the book are available in RJF 505 or in room 128 on the Lakeshore Campus for all students throughout the year.
The meet-the-author event will have a 30-minute question-and-answer forum following a pre-recorded presentation by the author. Students will be able to ask the author questions and interact with her live. For more information on this event, students can go to the Common Readings Website or the main GRCC library website.
Samantha Minnis, Information Literacy and Outreach Librarian planning this year’s event, shares the requirements that this special committee looks for when choosing the book for the year.
“Some of the parameters we used to choose the book include: we really like to elevate underrepresented voices in our community,” Minnis said. “…we also like books that allow students to engage a lot or a little. So last year our book was a collection of short stories and this year our book is a collection of essays.”
Students are also able to participate in choosing the book by going to the CCR link above where they can sign up with their email to receive updates on the library’s events and polls such as this. According to Minnis, this program can also lead to a more connected campus, “I think, for our campus, to experience the voice of somebody whose experience might be really different from theirs—again whether that is racially, from a health perspective, economic perspective, sexual orientation perspective—I think that helps us build empathy for the members of those folks who are in our community and help expand our world view,” Minnis said.
Meeting the author is not the only event the library has planned.
On Thursday, Jan. 30 at 5:30 p.m. in rooms 120 and 168 of the Applied Technology Center building, a panel of Indigenous members of the community will be presenting on the themes of ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’. The main topic consists of whether the book’s themes are or are not reflected in their own lives. This in-person event will be a great way for students to interact and learn about different perspectives of people in their community.
“This circles back to why we pick books by people that are considered to be underrepresented by their communities…it’s a really powerful way to share those stories and go back to real life experiences,” Minnis said, adding “…it’s very beautiful and the writing is very beautiful and the message of human connection to the Earth and that indigenous wisdom coupling that with scientific knowledge is a really powerful message.”
