Author Event: Pete Hamill

Author Pete Hamill is the child of immigrants from Northern Ireland whose parents arrived in New York City in the late 1920's.  He was raised in Brooklyn in an ethnically diverse neighborhood among a variety of immigrant families.  Immigration and New York  City feature in many of his books including Snow in August and Forever: A Novel.  I have enjoyed both of these books and was excited to see he would be speaking at the Tenement Museum on the topic of immigration and New York City in December.

Hamill began the night by talking about why his parents came to New York and his experience growing up in Brooklyn in a working class, immigrant neighborhood.  He spoke about the community of immigrants and how their differences in religion and culture mattered little- they were united as new arrivals to this country and did not toss ethnic slurs at each other as many of their parents had endured in the countries from which they emigrated.

His talk then moved into his experience living in Mexico and what it has taught him about the Mexican people. This exposure to the Mexican culture coupled with his own immigrant history has obviously influenced his point of view on the immigration debate that rages across the country.  It was interesting to hear him link the current immigrant experience with that of those featured in the museum, his parents, my parents and the current immigrants from places such as Mexico, Eastern Europe and South America.  Much of that debate hinges on  the difference between legal and illegal immigration but I thought Hamill made good points about the humanity of these immigrants and their ability to contribute to our economy. 

Perhaps my favorite part of his talk was when he said "I hate the phrase the American Dream.  A Dream is unwilled . . . . I prefer the American vision . . . you want to  do something with the only life you have and you marshall education, will, ambition . . . everything you need to achieve this vision".  I think this beautifully summarizes the American but also the immigrant experience.

It was a pleasure to hear the author speak  - I felt as if I was sitting across the table from him at dinner.  He has an easy way about him but speaks with a wealth of facts and authority on a subject he both knows a lot about but also cares about deeply.  You can listen to the talk in its entirety on the Tenement Museum website in the Tenement Talks section. 

JoAnn of Lakeside Musing also posted about a lecture by Pete Hamill which she attended and her reactions to his  North River: A Novel and the audiobook Downtown: My Manhattan written and read by Hamill. 

As part of my Immigrant Stories Challenge, I will feature a post on the last day of each month which focuses on immigrant literature or the immigrant experience.