From gardening rules to groovy tunes, Ross Gay, poet and author of this year’s summer reading book The Book of Delights, joined the School meeting over Zoom on October 29 to read book excerpts and answer questions.
In making the decision for The Book of Delights to be the summer reading book, the English Department ensured that Mr. Gay would be able to speak with the community this fall to discuss his work and writing process. With the book structured as a collection of essays, each chapter could stand alone as its own story, making it possible for readers to pick up and put down the book and to still fully understand Mr. Gay’s story.
Many members of the community appreciated the insight Mr. Gay shared in his work and the lessons to be learned from the book. Gretchen Russell ’22 said, “Reading the book, I realized that life is all about how you perceive what happens to you. There are two perspectives on any given situation: you can look at it as a delightful situation or a frustration.”
English teacher Dr. Stephen Siperstein said that The Book of Delights has greatly impacted his life and is one of his all-time favorite books. “The book has helped me realize that joy and grief, delight and sadness, are always connected and are inseparable. That the two together are what life, what being human, is all about.”
Mr. Gay opened the meeting by reading excerpts from the book, before discussing some of his poems and fielding questions from English Department Head Mr. Mark Gosztyla and sixth-formers Rachel Pittman ’22 and Adrienne Chacon ’22. The questions were written by the three moderators and submitted from English classes. Mr. Gay revealed that he thinks his writing resonates with his audience because his stories are “particular.” Readers not only get an in-depth look at his life, but can also identify qualities relatable to their own. During the event, Mr. Gay focused less on the process of writing the book and more on the themes scattered throughout The Book of Delights. In one essay, he spoke about how his foremost gardening rule is to share the abundance. Mr. Gosztyla thought that sharing as the rule of the garden was wonderful. “The poem that he read at the end was actually all about that, but also with the added lens of surprise because this wasn’t his garden. This was somebody else’s and they were sharing with him and sort of proved that not only is this his personal rule but also the rule of all gardens is that there is plenty. Let’s share.”
Dr. Siperstein felt the event was informative and engaging. “Even over Zoom, Ross Gay modeled for us as a community such presence and such an honest engagement with our questions and ideas. In other words, he modeled for us humility and thoughtfulness, which I think are so important right now. His writing is just so beautiful, particularly when hearing him read it aloud.”
Nevertheless, some students felt frustrated by the speaker being virtual, since the format lacks the intimacy of an in-person event. Sophia Kim ’24 said, “It would have been better if it was in person. I feel like I couldn’t connect with him and with what he was saying as much, but I still appreciated the opportunity to speak with him despite the circumstances.”
Gonzalo Castillo-Nunez ’22 agreed. “The virtual setting definitely decreased the level of attention and engagement, but it really helped that he was on a huge screen,” he said. “Still, I loved the atmosphere of the event and appreciated how he included humor into some of his answers.”
