NORWICH
--Brown
was the
word of
the day
at Otis
Library.
And
laughter
was the
response
to some
of the
plays-on-words
recited
at a
poetry
reading
Sunday
at the
newly
renovated
Otis
Library.
"There
were so
many
educated
liberal
browns,
I
thought
that
there
had been
some
kind of
going
out of
business
clearance
sale on
diplomas
for
browns,"
poet
Jose
Gonzalez
recited
from his
poem, "Autobrownography."
The
poem
recounts
his
experience
as a
Latino
who is
misunderstood
as he
goes
through
different
stages
in life.
The
event,
"Poems:
A
Celebration
of
Diversity,"
drew
community
leaders,
poetry
fans and
winners
of the
Otis
Library
2007
Poetry
Contest
who
recited
poems
written
by
famous
poets of
color,
including
Langston
Hughes,
Martin
Espada,
and
others.
Montville
resident
John
Deveau,
in the
context
of the
event's
message,
said he
is
concerned
about
the
attitudes
toward
people
of
different
backgrounds
expressed
by some
who are
native
to the
region.
"I
find
that
there's
still a
long way
to go,"
he said.
"People
have a
hard
time
accepting
where
we're
at, but
we're on
the
right
track.
The
event
was the
final
one held
at the
library
before
it
opened
its
doors
this
morning
to the
city's
book
lovers.
For two
years,
the
library
was
housed
across
the way
on Cliff
Street
while
the
current
site
underwent
renovations.
One
of the
biggest
changes
to the
library
is the
size of
the
children's
department
on the
second
floor,
which
features
a large
storytime
and
crafts
room,
equipped
with a
patterned
carpet,
child-size
chairs
and
puppets.
City
Alderman
Jacqueline
Caron,
who
recited
two
poems by
Hughes,
said a
library
encompasses
the
diversity
of a
city.
"A
library,
I think,
is a
community
for
everybody
and
anybody.
For
people
to be
able to
come and
learn
about
the
world,"
she
said.
"They
say
Norwich
is the
rose of
New
England,
and if
that's
the
case,
Otis
Library
is a
bouquet
of
flowers,
so to
speak."