Justice and Literature

January 13, 2009 | Elebash Recital Hall, CUNY Graduate Center | NYC

With Moustafa Bayoumi, Gordon Korman, Susan Kuklin, and others; moderated by Dr. David Brotherton

Authors Moustafa Bayoumi, Gordon Korman, and Susan Kuklin joined in conversation with John Jay College sociology department chair to discuss how their work examines our society's uneasy relationship with its own laws and institutions. Over 140 students from four schools across New York City joined the discussion, asking how character-driven work interrogates racism and how to define “justice.” After the event, students had their books (and even their shirts!) signed by the authors.

Thank you to our sponsors: The Kaplen Foundation, the Horace Goldsmith Foundation, the New York Department of Cultural Affairs, Axe-Houghton Foundation, Starbucks Coffee, Penguin Group USA, and volunteer Andrew Marantz.

Moderator Dr. David Brotherton on Justice, Power, and Understanding:

The authors have really taught us the importance of empathy. If you can not put yourself in the shoes of someone else, it is extremely difficult to find what you have in common with other people. For example, when I see violence against Latino immigrants on the increase in Brooklyn and Long Island, what I really see is people fearing and being unable to understand the situation of others. This is particularly troubling in New York City because nearly all of us—on one level or the other—have come here from immigrant backgrounds.

You are in school to gain knowledge. You are not in school to be trained as conformists, as dummies, or simply to fit in—but you are there to gain knowledge and become aware. In fact, the term “education” comes from the Latin “educare,” which means “to come out or lead out of darkness;” or “to lead out of ignorance.” But with that knowledge comes responsibility. As you become aware, you should also see how you can act on your awareness, whether it is in your neighborhood, in your schools, or any situation of life that you are in.

You must question authority. You must question where ideas and facts come from. You must question rules-not simply follow them—and find out where you fit within this system with all its different codes. That means that within your schools you must develop all kinds of groups that will win more power for you and your teachers. This is particularly important in the present period when education is going to come under the axe of an economic depression.

Resistance comes in many forms. You have heard today how people in all these stories in different forms, in different situations, have resisted in order to find themselves. All of you—on some level or another—have resisted. Your parents have resisted; that is why you are here as a matter of fact. Some of you… all of you, have to go back to see what you can learn from your personal histories in order to make sense of the future.


What texts would you recommend to readers of your work?

Moustafa Bayoumi: W.E.B DuBois's The Souls of Black Folk and Kafka's short story "In the Penal Colony".

Who inspires your most recent work?

Susan Kuklin: A professor and lawyer whom I took a course with, Bryan Stevenson, who specializes in Equal Justice.

What advice to you give to young writers?

Gordon Korman: Just write and read. Most writers are readers. If you are a non-reader you won’t feel a burning desire to write. Looking back, 95% of what I’ve learned about writing, I’ve learned from just doing it. I have experience with different situations. It isn’t that I always know what the right choice as a writer is today. It’s that when I come into a problem when working on a book, I instantly know what my options are, whereas as a younger writer I might have been scared, “freaked out,” or felt lost at sea. So much of my knowledge and success comes from experience, and the way to get experience is just writing.