written by Molly Smith

On October 21st, Cumberland University experienced literary history when National Book Award winner Colum McCann visited as a part of the Cordell Hull Peace Forum. In a reading of his latest book Apeirogon, McCann said, “There is no greater agony than a story untold.”

This embodies the message of both events he was featured in, as an effort to spread peace among discorded people through the power of storytelling. His book Apeirogon, the film rights of which Steven Spielberg recently bought, tells the story of two men, Rami Elhanan & Bassam Aramin, born to be enemies but brought together by shared loss. Elhanan is Israeli, and Aramin is Palestinian, but they became closer than family when their daughters were killed as a result of Middle Eastern conflict.

They were able to join our discussion over Zoom in Alumni Hall, calling in from Jerusalem at 3:00 in the morning!

When asked how they were able to overcome their cultural inclinations and become unlikely friends, Aramin remarked that “the discovery of humanity in the enemy ends conflict.” He said going to school and learning about the Holocaust in an effort to “know more, act better” helped him to meet others, hear their stories, and discover friendship. Likewise, Elhanan joined a support group for families who lost children to the conflict and was overwhelmed by the sympathy he received. He says it was the beginning of a journey towards another culture, language, and history. They both remarked on how it is still a journey, as they continue fighting for peace and to keep their daughters alive through the telling of their stories.

McCann discovered the power of storytelling in a similar way when he first moved to the United States from Ireland in his early twenties. He bought a bike and cycled from Cape Cod to Southern California in the span of two years, where he learned the importance of engaged listening. He discovered that everyone has a story to tell, and the ability to tell a story never leaves you. We experienced this firsthand at our first storytelling event on October 20th, where a diverse collection of personal tales was told by students, staff, donors, and outsiders in Baird Chapel. We heard about everyone from epileptics to immigrants. We listened to stories of fathers passing, boyfriends leaving, car wrecks, discoveries of self-love, and more. One alumnus, Louis Cardona, recounted his journey of fleeing Honduras and crossing the Mexico border despite unthinkable opposition. Another student listed all the injuries she had received from a lifetime of dance, from broken toes to twisted elbows. A man who attended Cumberland University in 1957 told us of when he would go to similar events as a student over sixty years ago. The variety of life experiences inside one room may have highlighted the differences between all of us in attendance, but only served to bond us as strangers through familiarities.

For more on McCann, go to www.colummccann.com