Sedona AZ (January 9, 2012) – Sedona resident and author Anne Crosman will launch her latest book THE NEW IMMIGRANTS: AMERICAN SUCCESS STORIES Wednesday, January 11, at 6:30 p.m. in the Sedona Public Library.
Anne has invited Itzhak Magal, one of the immigrants in her book, to join her, along with other Sedona residents Dr. Nick Paslidis, Bette and Venkat Venkateswaran, Penny Mathieu, Ursula Gore, Grace Gedlek, and Andre Renard. They will relate their immigrant experiences, and answer questions from the audience.
“I immigrated three times,” says Itzhak. “Once from Iraq to Israel, a second time from Israel to Los Angeles, and a third time from LA to Sedona, when my wife Alicia Magal became rabbi for the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley. I always say that Israel is my mother, but America is my lover.” Itzhak will sing, and play some of his favorite instruments.
Anne always includes her audiences in her talks. “We all are immigrants,” she says. “I’m fascinated by people’s heritage, and I’ll ask members of the audience to talk about their roots. Most of us hold onto some ancestral customs — religion, spiritual beliefs, food, language, and holiday celebrations. I’m like most Americans, a mix: English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, French, and Swiss-German.”
Anne interviewed Sedona residents Mihaela Constantinescu (originally from Romania), Ludmila Loisy (from the Czech Republic), Grace Gedlek (Poland), Klim Altman (Ukraine), Geary Quiros (Bolivia), Dr. Nick Paslidis (Greece), Penny Mathieu (England), Martin O’Neill (England), Andre Renard (France), Ursula Gore (Switzerland), Bette and Venkat Venkateswaran (India), and Melati and Max Knaus (Bali and Austria). She also talked to Deb Wahl (Croatian), owner of the Oak Creek Vineyard and Winery in Page Springs, and Yvonne Yap (Chinese), owner of Ming House in Camp Verde.
“I had a great range of Arizona immigrants to choose from,” says Anne. “I chose these people, along with others, including Hispanics, because they have carved out productive lives, and they contribute greatly to their communities. I wanted to show that the majority of Arizona immigrants are legal, patriotic, hard-working residents. Many of them survived bumps along the way, but they have integrated well in American society. All of them deeply appreciate the freedoms to speak and live as they wish.”
Philip Reed Rulon, historian and professor emeritus at NAU (Northern Arizona University), says, “Crosman is a master of voice and writing, as well as an exceptional storyteller. She has met people from all over the world, and her love for the human condition is in every page. Her book bristles with hope, and inspires the reader to adopt the immigrants’ motto ‘Never Give Up.'”
Anne teaches memoir-writing at OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) in Sedona and serves on the Sedona OLLI Council. For two years she was afternoon host for “All Things Considered” on KNAU, Arizona Public Radio in Flagstaff. As a journalist, she was news correspondent for CBS, NBC, and Mutual Radio Networks, both in the US and abroad. Her book YOUNG AT HEART: AGING GRACEFULLY WITH ATTITUDE (2003, 2004, 2005) won a national Benjamin Franklin Award.
Copies of both books will be available for sale at the library. All proceeds go to charity. Everyone is welcome. Refreshments will be served!