Go to booktv. Org. The before Columbus Foundation presents the winners of the american book awards in San Francisco, calif. I am the chairman of the board of directors and i want to thank our friends for their sponsorship for this afternoons awards and my colleagues on the board of directors for their presence and persistence and devotion to this very worthy and necessary and urgent and i would say even medicinal organization. At the beginning of this year january, the United States lost one of its most innovative and exciting writers, mary barracca twice winner of the american book award a strong supporter of the before Columbus Foundation. His last appearance in San Francisco was a fundraiser not far from here to raise money for the before Columbus Foundation. Still in our embrace of the panorama of American Literature and history of this afternoon unlike to dedicate my portion of the program to the memory of appellates and writer, amory bar barracca barracca. We have quite a harvest this afternoon. We are honored by the presence of many of the most fertile writers, as i mentioned a moment ago some strong medicine for some very ill times. Before we get into that, i would like to start with a gentleman a good friend and cant be with us today but received the american book award for a very important work, breach of trust how americans failed their soldiers and their country by Andrew Bacevich. Some of the most egregious journalists on television and in print have been sheared leading and saber rattling this country into war for a very long time. The most venal over at the new york times, david brooks. He is just one. But the responsibility of journalists to present an honest representation of the relationship between the United States and the rest of the world has utterly fallen by the wayside. There are very few who still present us with rigorous, inventive and deciphering journalism about our relationship with the rest of the world. Andrew bacevich is one of those people. This book squarely puts much of the onus on us as citizens and journalists as well. In accepting the award for Andrew Bacevich i will read a very few words that he send us that he would like to share with you. To have breach of trust how americans failed their soldiers and their country recognize alongside the other books being honored here it this evening is a cause of great personal satisfaction to me. I apologize for not being here in person. My teaching schedule did not permit me to attend. As we all know, writing is hard work and it is work undertaken with no real expectation of actually being read. Much less understood and appreciated. An award like this is a welcome indicator in some quarters, the sort of thing that encourages you to keep at it when you get up in the morning. There are many Untold Stories that deserve to be told and many overlooked and underreporting issues that demand greater attention than they receive. And the storytelling in this book, and issues explores a uniquely important but like it or not, ours is a country that has embraced military power with Something Like reckless abandon. The vast majority of our fellow citizens have come to expect that we must remain not simply militarily powerful but militarily supreme not just now but in perpetuity. Our political establishment is dedicated to that proposition, democrats and republicans alike. In my view this expectation which emerged in the wake of the cold war has produced exceedingly pernicious results. One of the most pernicious of all is the fraudulent relationship between the American People and their soldiers with something close to unanimous the americans profess to support the troops. In reality we are complicity in their abuse, committing them to openended wars that are both unnecessary and mismanaged breach of trust examines the relationship and suggests an alternative more in line with the values we profess. Thank you again for this recognition and i am exceedingly grateful. Andrew bacevich. [applause] now i would like to introduce a colleague on the board of directors at before Columbus Foundation, poet active this writer jenny lynn. [applause] it is great to see everybody here. This next recipient of the american book award also wasnt able to join us today. Surname is Joan Naviyuk Kane. I dont know the correct pronunciation, she is from anchorage alaska, from king island. Received the writers award for her first book of poetry and recently received a native arts and culture is foundation literature fellowship among many other honors. Joan naviyuk kane, one of the best poets of her generation and at the top of the next wave of indigenous poets. Joan naviyuk kane. I want to read in little bit of a quote from d. C. Walter about her books. Heavyhanded and a blue slopes. In these vivid, disturbing and mysterious poems written in english, Joan Naviyuk Kane writes out of the landscape and language of the fine arts. Hyperboreal is situated at a threshold between cultures between inner and outer worlds and the poems are voice with throat slight swell her compelling vision is earned through a language that will dislocate in order to relocate and whose shifts are exact and existing. That was a quote from arthur z. Now lets switch to Thomas Mcgovern and juan delgado. It is my pleasure to introduce these two authors. Juan delgado and Thomas Mcgovern traveled together into the desolate yet vibrant desert scape of San Bernardino in the heart of california, the neon signs and faded murals once with the spark of the painter rent neighborhood. Yet the place and traces still speaks through the still frames intimate and closeup portraits, documents, narratives, meditations and all of a sudden removed, pick up the steps and meander through another map the unofficial cartography is, they are not really faded or worn, they keep on in one long poem and when long image, accordions before the talks off walls, hair styling salons, barber shops, street and parking lots we are the consciousness of the people and places that continue. We are the heroes, they say, stand up. Let us applaud thisthe signs of our time. Bravoed to juan delgado and Thomas Mcgovern. That was a quote from the poet laureate of california as no other person could say it. [applause] there is your kodak moment. Congratulations. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Moving right along here. Thank you. Oh yes, of course. You wonder why we are just standing here. I thought was a San Bernardino oakland thing. You poet there in to these lands and all that. I just want to thank the foundation, ishmael and justin and everybody for recognizing our book vital signs. At least juan delgado had the sense to bring a copy. I would like to thank Marion Mitchell wilson, the executive director of the Atlantic Foundation the first group i brought the photographs to and asked them do you think you could support this as a book and she said yes and when she mentioned that i said i would love to work with this putt i work juan delgado, she was very excited. I knew this idea of the collaboration between my photographs and juan delgados poetry would resonate with folks. We thank our publisher and the editor, a publicist who helps us get to work out their lot, juan delgados life jean is fabulous, a big supporter and his biggest critic and as my wife who is also my biggest critic and my biggest supporter ultimately we would also saying our colleagues at San Bernardino, the former president , and provosts and former dean who we are all very instrumental and supportive of this. Before i let juan delgado squeezes were denied would like to comment about how fraught the idea of doing a collaboration is and how difficult that is and it is like magic. You think it is going to work and a lot of times it doesnt. Yet with juan delgado who are referred to as a brother from another mother we seem to have found thats perfect consternation between respect and love and criticism and insight to hopefully make this collaboration one that will last. Thank you. I want to acknowledge tom and the partnership, we spend hours in a local city driving slowly looking at murals. The cops caging the place and the street lights you want to buy this or that it was interesting. One of the great benefits of our partnership is we know all the best places to eat in our town. We might start our talk coach with the book, go to all the cool places to eat. I want to read a poem and dedication to the ceremony today, specifically i want to dedicate it to a couple people. I grew up in neighborhoods that had a lot of neighborhood moms were if you did something two blocks away your mom knew before you got home we live in scary places but these women kept the place save for us. Our book is a love poem to the city but also love poem to the people who keep the city together. I totally understand oakland. Most people see us as a gas station, between l a and palm springs, so we are in the shadow of those other places so this poem neighbors, also a dedicated to all the fabulous writers and some i have been following for many years, honored to be here and meaningful first time. It is also a dedicated to afrocuban poet Nicholas Giron you have got to know his work. He is heavily influenced by langston hughes. Theres a little bit of spanish in here. They line the window sills that night. As their prayers flicker if they take comfort in their plastic rosaries. The fajitas and cilantro of the childhood and smell like a wooden pews of corner iglesias. They are not afraid or scared of looking like you. The fajitas spit out the forms of their past, not even to their laziness. The stitch and patch new Families Together when driven beyond their own. [applause] thank you so much. We appreciate it. [applause] thank you very much. One of the most wonderful things about working with before columbus is discovering through my colleagues on the board many of the books that would otherwise not come my way. And unique work of history american history, that has been balanced with exceptional love and logic, great empathy and intuition and courage comes to us this year from a gentleman Jonathan Scott holloway. This book jim crow wisdom memory identity in black america since 1940 jim crow wisdom memory identity in black america since 1940 confronts the much of the history of our nation that has been violently suppressed. The author again through courage and intuition and empathy helps us along that way through his own personal discoveries so it creates a very unique and sometimes startling form for a work of history. It is a great honor to welcome to the stage Jonathan Scott holloway. [applause] thank you for that love the introduction. And some asian. Part of what justin was referring to, i think about the book being a little bit different as a book of history, historians might not consider it a book of history. I began the book as a third person narrative and then got stuck for three years when a book dealing with memory, my family memories kept invading a book on other peoples memories and after three years i gave myself permission may be because i ran out of ideas to use the first person. The first and third person i interwoven in a way that i think gives a new textured to this particular history. I want to actually in acknowledging method turned to another author basically right to beautiful histories of southeastern United States, and form family collection of essays, and he tells a story when he was 9 years old growing got very poor with a father who was consistently disappointing him, never falling through an amazing promises, tells a story of being very excited about watching the apollo moon shot and hoping somehow to get a telescope so he could see the mood when Neil Armstrong was on the face of it. His father promised he would do it and young tony was convinced to fall through, to not follow through. On the evening of the moon shot when the alarm strong walked on the moon his father showed up with an instrument to see the moon and the until any major he found Neil Armstrong walking on the surface of the mood. The adult tony writing the story of this moment of his fathers final arrival coming through with his promise and set off to the harpers and a fact checker rights back and says i skipped an important fact. Young tony said he imagined seeing the alarm strong walking on the surface of the brilliant full moon and the fact checker right back the moon was a waxing crescent. This is the most powerful memory of my childhood, the moon was full but then decided to check the record. The moon was a waxing crescent. Even though he knows the fact that the moon was not full, to this day that mood is very full in his imagination. The highlight in that moment the tension between history, the waxing crescent and memory of that full moon. They are irreconcilable and insulation for me that he is so much of the africanamerican experience itself. So crafting that book especially beyond my boundaries as a historian was not a task that came to me by myself. My first editor sean hunter who saw what the book could be before i go and gave me permission to do Something Different and also thank the students who taught me along the way because students always teach, students who taught me, friends who supported me and my family who was very determined to share their memories, in particular i thank my late mother who taught me to listen to everyone especially those whose stories were too often written out of history. The final thanks goes to my father who after reading the book i did not share this with my family in the years of its creation but gave me the best review i could have hoped to receive. This was a direct quote, i never knew my life would matter. Now i know it has. Thank you for the strange experiment of mine, the most personal book ever written and one that i hope resonates with others as well. [applause] i think that quote struck a chord and that is why we are here. With many of these authors and books we didnt really realize we manage until we expressed our history through poetry research, history, that set distortions right. I thank you very much for saying that. I also want to acknowledge as justin acknowledged barraccas contributions to the literary world in a voice that really addressed issues that would never have been addressed the way they were with blues and jazz and poetry and plays i want to acknowledge my peers sisters who i have missed so much, jane cortez, a powerful poet and Wanda Coleman who we both lost in the space of the last year as well as my peer fred hop who wrote extensively about the connection between asians and africans and the history of oppression, expressed through music combining the asian aesthetic. Hold up half the sky and hold up the other half. Another awardee who wasnt able to join us i want to thank those of you who made the trip from across the country to be here with us and this author this nick terse. He says is an incredible honor to be recognized with an american book award. I look back a list of past winners from daniel els greg to chalmers, to Toni Morrison to my fellow recipients this year i find myself humbles truly a select company and i couldnt be more grateful to the before Columbus Foundation for be stowing this great honor upon me. My only regret is that i cannot begin in person. I spent years writing kill anything that moves, and a debt of gratitude i can never truly repay but i would like to recognize. I want to thank the many funders who supported my work and allow me to write kill anything that moves, this includes the fund for investigative journalism, Harvard Universitys institute, new york universitys center for the United States and the cold war and john simons Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and Nation Institute and its Investigative Fund and metropolitan books. I owe so many other people real debt of gratitude, too many to thank you but none more so than my wife an exceptionally talented photographer who reported alongside me in Southeast Asia on several locations. Finally i want to close by expressing my gratitude to all those who truly made my work possible of repeated trips to vietnam. I had the distinct honor to speak with hundreds of men and women whose courage, strength of character brazilians, openness and bravery continually left me in a state of law. I spoke with survivors of massacres rapes and tortures, people who had endured almost unspeakable brutality. I dropped in and out of the blue and asked these people to talk about the most horrific events imaginable, the most terrible days of their lives and they in turn opens up to us stranger from country that so wrong to them. At the end of the ordeal they invariably thank me for my efforts. I was continually stunned by the response and remains so today. I share this great honor with all who shared so much with me. Thank you. [applause] and now someone who is here and i am so proud and happy to have met him, koon woon cut his book, water chasing water in 2013 described by bob holman, the voice of a new america, you can just imagine that visually, he exploded on to the poetry scene in the late 1990s, largely selftaught, struggling with mental ellis and homelessness, he wrote about the back alleys and tenement rooms in the margins of immigrant culture. His first collection the truth in rented rooms included in this volume won a ten poetry prize and earned praise from garrison killer, water chasing water is his second collection and continues his exploration of loneliness and