01907 Spring 2023

Four-legged
therapy
SPRING 2023
VOL. 8, NO. 1

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2 | 01907
LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
TED GRANT
A publication of Essex Media Group
Publisher
Edward M. Grant
Chief Executive Officer
Michael H. Shanahan
Directors
Edward L. Cahill
John M. Gilberg
Edward M. Grant
Gordon R. Hall
Monica Connell Healey
J. Patrick Norton
Michael H. Shanahan
Chief Financial Officer
William J. Kraft
Controller
Susan Conti
Editor
Thor Jourgensen
Contributing Editor
Alyssa Cantwell
Stuart Foster
Writers
Joey Barrett
Anthony Cammalleri
Jerry DiStefano
Charlie McKenna
Emily Pauls
Alexandera Rodriguez
Ryan Vermette
Photographers
Spenser Hasak
Libby O'Neill
Advertising Sales
Ernie Carpenter
Ralph Mitchell
Patricia Whalen
Design
Emilia Sun
INSIDE
6 Rockett man
10 Presidential party
12 House Money
18 Hoofers
22 State reader
24 Peter and Bill
26 Selfless service
28 Ties' way
30 Super style
31 Rabbi redux
34 Surin speaks
ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
85 Exchange St.,
Lynn, MA 01901
781-593-7700
Subscriptions:
781-214-8237
01907themagazine.com
Golden Big Blue memories
I’m a fan of tradition, especially when it comes to sports. Call me old-school. Or, just call me old.
Both are applicable.
When it comes to North Shore football, it’s hard to top Swampscott when it comes to tradition.
The legacy of the Big Blue has been well documented, nowhere better than in Robert Jauron’s book,
“Big Blue Days.” Stan Bondelevitch gets credit for being the mastermind – but he also benefitted
from having Hall of Fame assistant coaches, including Frank DeFelice and Dick Lynch, to name just
two.
This has nothing to do with the subject at hand – namely, this edition of 01907 – but I, too,
benefitted from knowing Frank DeFelice and Dick Lynch (which is about the only thing I had in
common with Stan Bondelevitch). I began my career as a sportswriter at The Daily Evening Item in
Lynn (the Evening part disappearing years ago), and no two local sports figures had more impact on
me in the beginning than Coach DeFelice and Dick Lynch, by then the athletic director at Danvers
High. They taught me how to be a professional. (And I won’t bore you with the details, but Coach
DeFelice was my daughter’s phys ed teacher in school and began a process that ended with her
graduating Boston College.)
But I digress.
Swampscott can lay claim to winning the first MIAA Super Bowl, as the Big Blue’s win at BU
over Catholic Memorial in the inaugural Div. 2 championship game in 1972 was played before the
Div. 1 clash (speaking of football towns, extra credit if you knew Brockton was the first Div. 1 Super
Bowl champ).
Hard to believe it has been 50 years since that first Super Bowl. A golden anniversary is always a
good time to look back and Jerry DiStefano has you covered in this edition of 01907.
Along with the Lynches – you may have heard of Dick’s son, Mike, who kicked a few memorable
field goals in his days at Swampscott and Harvard and did pretty well for himself on TV, too – the
Bushes, Bill and Peter, can also be considered among the royal families of Big Blue Football.
Bill was a Bondy assistant and won 75 games and two league titles in 12 seasons as the head
coach. Son Peter was a standout quarterback who led the 1996 team to a conference title and Super
Bowl berth. As an assistant coach and defensive coordinator for Bobby Serino the last dozen seasons,
Peter was part of two Super Bowl champion teams (2019 and 2021). When Serino announced his
retirement shortly after Thanksgiving, Peter was the logical choice to succeed him and was named to
the position in early February. Joey Barrett has the story.
There’s more to life than football, even in the 01907, and we have plenty for you to sink your
cleats into in this edition …
For instance, Emily Pauls takes us into the worlds of Nahant artist Ties Jan de Blij, who partners
with Johnson School students to fight climate change, and multi-award winning poet, Enzo Silon
Surin, whose inspiration stems from an educator.
Fighting climate change isn’t the only thing that people are standing up for in Swampscott.
Rabbi’s Michael Ragozin and Yossi Lipsker have been key leaders in the community’s fight against
antisemitism. Ryan Vermette takes readers through how their teachings create unity.
Veterans Services Agent Mike Sweeney, whose service greatly impacts the communities of Lynn
and Swampscott, has helped honor Jennifer Harris and Jared Raymond, who were killed in the
Global War Against Terror. Alexandra Rodriguez has the story.
Stacy DeBole has had an extensive library resume even before she was named State Librarian.
Anthony Cammalleri takes us through how her book history helped her get to where she is today.
Speaking of history, on the day that Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt visited Nahant to attend
their son John's wedding, the population of the town more than tripled. Pauls has the story. And
back in present time, Tyler Rockett’s Instagram page for his business, Skebenga Apparel, is growing
everyday. Charlie McKenna has the story that will have you searching for the like button.
And finally, with all of the volunteerism and activism throughout this edition of 01907, it
only makes sense that our cover story would be Marianne Hartmann, who founded Minis with a
Mission, which provides equine therapy to anyone from students to those recovering from addiction.
Pauls also has this story, and I hope you find some sort of inspiration from all of the people who
have devoted their lives to these many causes . . . just as I found inspiration from two former
Swampscott assistant football coaches.
COVER Marianne Hartmann gets up close and personal with a Minis with a Mission friend.
PHOTO BY LIBBY O'NEILL

4 | 01907
WHAT'S UP
Learn to sit
What: Licensed daycare provider
Debbie La Flemme teaches babysitting
focused on infant and toddler care.
Where: The course is open to students
in grades 5-10 at the senior center next to
Swampscott High School, 200 Essex St.
Register at swampscottrec.com
When: Sunday, March 19, 1-5 p.m.
Earth kindness
What: Sign up for the spring town-wide
yard sale to support Earth Day 2023.
Where: Sell at your home or on the Town
Hall lawn on Monument Avenue. Register
by April 8 at shorturl.at/aoqX4
When: Saturday, April 22, 8 a.m.-noon.
Rain date, April 23.
Calling candidates
What: Opportunities for residents to
run for elected office are open with
terms expiring on eight town boards and
committees and Town Meeting.
Where: Check swampscottma.gov/
town-clerk-elections or call 781 596
4167 for more information.
When: The town election is Tuesday,
April 25.
Stretch, bend
What: Bring your own mat and enjoy
yoga with instructor Tracy Walsh.
Where: Swampscott public library, 61
Burrill St. No registration necessary.
When: Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.
Rotary dial
What: Rotary Club of Swampscott's
mission in keeping with Rotarian
philosophy is serving humanity.
Where: Join club members for lunch at
Mission on the Bay, 141 Humphrey St. and
bring a friend.
When: Wednesdays at 12:15 p.m.

SPRING 2023 | 5
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North Shore since 1987.
At P.M. Gallagher Inc., it is our mission to provide
our clients with the highest quality construction
services available and to continuously exceed their
goals and expectations.
pmgallagher.com • 781-596-8788
email: pmgallagherco@verizon.net

6 | 01907
6 | 01907
Swampscott native Tyler Rockett founded
his own clothing brand, "Skebenga," with
a focus on fishing themed designs.
PHOTOS: TYLER ROCKETT
BY CHARLIE MCKENNA
ROCKETTING
TO SUCCESS
Tyler Rockett isn’t your average
college student. The Swampscott
native is in his first year at
Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh,
juggling the typical demands of adapting to
college life while running his own business.
During the summer after his senior year
of high school, Rockett’s father purchased
a new boat. He named “Skebenga,” a word
meaning “bandit” in South Africa, in
embrace of his heritage having grown up
there. As a gift, Rockett made a few T-shirts
to commemorate the occasion for himself
and his family.
When the Rocketts wore the shirts
around town, they began to get questions
about where they got them from people
interested in buying them. It was then that
inspiration struck Rockett.
“I decided to make a lot more designs,”
he said. “I bought a domain and made a
website and kind of expanded the product
catalog. More designs moved into hats and
mugs and other things, and it just kind of
developed from there.”
Now, Skebenga has more than 700
followers on Instagram, and Rockett is
running the business out of his dorm room.
Most of the apparel is fishing-themed,
fitting given Rockett’s Swampscott roots
and his affinity for the water. He explains
that fishing has been a way for him to
connect with his father and younger brother,
and he felt that there was a dearth of
fishing-specific clothing brands in the area.
Rockett’s favorite parts about growing
up in Swampscott, he says, were the fishing
and being out on the water.
“My favorite place to go is when you
walk down Phillips Beach and you climb
up on the rocks,” Rockett said. “I will just
go up on those rocks. It's extremely quiet.
I'll bring a fishing rod and I'll just catch
stripers off those rocks. It's really important
to me, it's just a way for me to get away from
everything.”
In fact, Rockett achieved his personal
best off those rocks when he caught a 46-
inch striper.
Rockett designs the products himself,
beginning with simple pen and paper as he
sketches out a rough idea. Then he moves
on to Photoshop, and eventually sends the
design to a manufacturer he partnered with.
He says he hopes as the business grows,
he’ll be able to take over manufacturing the
clothes himself.
For now, manufacturing and designing
them while balancing a full academic
workload would be “extremely difficult,”
Rockett says.
“It helps with profit margin when I
print them myself,” he said. “I can also be
100 percent sure of the quality of what I'm
putting out when I'm manufacturing them
FISHY, page 9

SPRING 2023 | 7

8 | 01907
A TASTE OF MARBLEHEAD
Meet Me @ Mai Tai Lounge for dinner and drinks
Opened in December 2021, Mai Tai
Lounge is a relatively new addition
to the Marblehead restaurant scene.
Walking up the wooden front steps,
customers are greeted with a modern
mix of lounge and restaurant.
The name “Mai Tai” refers to
a cocktail made of rum, Curaçao
liqueur, orgeat syrup and lime juice.
It's one of the characteristic cocktails
in Tiki culture — which kind of speaks
to the restaurant's blend of eating and
drinking.
Mai Tai Lounge is owner Amanda
Breen's first restaurant business. She
believes there's room for really good
local restaurants so that Marbleheaders
don't have to travel to Boston to have a
great dining experience.
Mai Tai Lounge managed to open
its door amid the pandemic. Breen
said the pandemic did complicate the
preparation, but the community was
ready to dine out.
At the end of 2021, Mai Tai served
its first customer and now has the
capacity to serve around 66 seated
customers, not including the outdoor
area.
Thomas Saltsman — the artist who
installed an Egyptian cobra goddess
in town during Halloween — was the
designer of the restaurant. According
Breen, the average price of a dish is
around $25.
“I think it was really just that the
space and the abilities and the people
came together at the right time,” said
Breen.
Manager Kevin Le also played a
role in turning Mai Tai Lounge into
a reality. He has been in the catering
industry for 17 years and is the creator
of every dish and cocktail at Mai Tai
Lounge. Breen also said Le has been
instrumental in training the staff in
how to prepare the dishes.
Before he came to Marblehead,
Le worked in Washington, D.C. at
many high-end restaurants. Later,
he obtained his certificate at the Le
Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts
in Boston.
Le met Breen at the very end of a
bar in Swampscott. Le was serving
as the bartender and manager, and
Breen was a customer. After that, they
together brainstormed the idea of a
Kevin Le is the general manager of Mai Tai Lounge on Pleasant Street.
fusion-food restaurant, the results of
Le’s 17 years of practice.
Mai Tai is Le’s dream come true
after decades of work. The food on
the menu traces back to Vietnam,
Thailand, Germany and China, Le
said.
Le suggested customers try the
lobster rangoon. “It's fresh milk with a
local lobster and green Swiss onions.
It's got a crispy on the outside.”
He also recommends the “Mai
Mango Scallop.” He added: “With a
little drop of butter over the top with
mango salsa, they have fresh mango
and a little sweetness.”
Mai Tai Lounge is inseparable
from its bar section, which features
a full page of drinks including nine
signature Mai Tai cocktails with fun
names including High Tide Mai Thai,
a gluten-free vodka cocktail named
after the coastal location. Another
called Meet Me @ Mai Tai is a
lychee-flavored vodka cocktail.
The bar also serves a drink called
In Chamber, which includes a very
rare 12-year Japanese whisky and is
Kevin Le tosses the lobster pad Thai in a wok.
limited to one per guest. It's served on
the rocks and presented in a smoke
box when served.
PHOTOS | SPENSER HASAK
Mai Tai Lounge encourages
customers to make reservations if they
wish to dine on the weekends.
165 Pleasant St, Marblehead, MA • 781-990-3309 • www.themaitailounge.com

FISHY, continued from page 6
myself. That's something I'm looking
forward to shifting back towards in the
future.”
Rockett is studying business at
Carnegie Mellon, and he says he’s always
been interested in entrepreneurship.
Skebenga is the first business he’s started
that’s actually taken hold.
“Since middle school, I was always
starting businesses and selling things, and
business has always been something I've
been extremely passionate about,” he says.
“I’m definitely glad to see that one of
these businesses I’ve started has kind of
materialized into something successful.”
Sales thus far have been “pretty
good,” Rockett says, though they dipped
in the winter as the appetite for fishing
and boating decreased. Since the brand
launched in June, Skebenga has grossed
$1,300.
Rockett says he keeps prices low in an
effort to make his clothes accessible. For
now, Rockett says Skebenga is less about
making money and more about seeing
people wear his clothes.
“When I see somebody wearing
something that I made, it makes me
really happy,” he says.
Skebenga’s most popular design also
happens to be Rockett’s favorite — the
tuna wave design, which shows a curling
wave and a contorted tuna along with the
words “Skebenga Apparel Co.”
While running a business from his
dorm room has proved challenging,
Rockett says it hasn’t been a chore. He
said a lot of the business is online, and
that his dad and younger brother have
been a huge help in ensuring it stays
running.
“It's a fun way to escape my
schoolwork to keep running my
business,” he said.
As Skebenga grows, Rockett hopes
to branch out beyond Swampscott
and Greater Boston into the fishing
community on the east coast writ large.
Friends of his from college are already
angling to join the business, with the goal
of introducing Skebenga to Florida.
“The dream for me is to expand
it to be a big fishing brand,” he says,
explaining that he draws inspiration from
the brand Salty Crew.
“One thing we’re going to do in the
future is we’re going to start donating a
portion of our proceeds to charity,” he
added. “Obviously, that's a big part of a
brand that's centered on fishing and the
ocean is environmental conservation. It’s
extremely important.”
Swampscott native Tyler Rockett launched his Skebenga clothing line in June.
2/24/23, 2:58 PM WDB__New_RemarketingAds+Updates_Mag_2023.jpg
SPRING 2023 | 9

10 10
| 01907
| 01907
Nahant Historical Society Executive Director Julie Tarmy looks through newspaper
clippings from 1938 when John Roosevelt married Nahant resident Anne Clark.
STAFF PHOTOS: SPENSER HASAK

THE DAY THE ROOSEVELTS
CAME TO NAHANT
SPRING
SPRING
2023
2023 |
11
11
The day was June 18, 1938.
It was a Saturday. On any
other Saturday, the people
of Nahant would possibly be spending
the late spring day down by the water
or with their families. But this Saturday
was different. President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt and First Lady
Eleanor Roosevelt were in town for a
wedding.
Their son John Aspinwall Roosevelt
was marrying Nahant’s Anne Lindsay
Clark. 700 guests were invited to join
the couple as they exchanged vows at
Nahant Village Church, and then to a
reception at the Nahant Country Club.
The wedding party had been
expecting 200,000 people to come to
Nahant that day to get a glimpse of
the president. It ended up only being
BY EMILY PAULS
5,000 extra people, but for the small
beach town this was still a lot of people.
According to the 1940 census two years
later, the population of Nahant was
only 1,835 people, meaning the town’s
population more than tripled that day.
An article from The Daily Evening
Item in 1999 detailing the wedding said
“About 2,500 people gathered outside
the church. Cheers were heard for the
president; oohs and aahs were uttered
when the bride appeared.”
The lower number of people in town
that day could possibly be attributed to
the fact that you had to have a special
pass to get in. There were passes for the
press, town officials, Nahant residents,
and Nahant business owners.
Nahant’s Calantha Sears was 17 on
the day of the wedding and said she can
still remember them setting up for the
highly anticipated event.
The wedding was heavily covered by
the press, which the Nahant Historical
Society has preserved by creating a
scrapbook of the many articles written.
Julie Tarmy, the executive director,
displayed articles they have collected
along with other photos, the wedding
guest list, and the passes people needed
to get into town.
“News reporters flooded Nahant,”
the 1999 Daily Evening Item article
wrote. “Remember that this was in
the days before television. Plus, this
romantic love story was just the tonic
everyone needed after years of bleak
economic times.”
ROOSEVELTS, page 16
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12 | 01907
HOUSE MONEY
PHOTOS COURTESY OF LUXE LIFE PRODUCTIONS

SPRING 2023 | 13
57 Bellevue Road
SALE PRICE: $1,817,500
SALE DATE: December 7, 2022
LIST PRICE: $1,950,000
TIME ON MARKET:
77 days to closing
LISTING BROKER:
Liz Walters with Coldwell Banker Realty
SELLING BROKER:
Heather Grant Murray with Sagan
Harborside Sotheby's
LATEST ASSESSED
VALUE: $1,204,700
PROPERTY TAXES: $14,217
PREVIOUS SALE: $380,000
(2007) – fully rehabbed since
YEAR BUILT: 2018
LOT SIZE: 8,102 sq ft (.19 acres)
LIVING AREA: 5,080
ROOMS: 10
BEDROOMS: 4
BATHROOMS: 4
SPECIAL FEATURES:
New construction in the midst of a
seasoned Beach Bluff neighborhood
near beach and bike path. Open design
first floor with nine-foot ceilings, oak
plank flooring and custom mudroom.
Kitchen features chef’s appliances and
a large pantry. First floor office, living
room and dining room. Four large
bedrooms on second floor. Bonus
room on third floor plumbed for
expansion. Fenced-in yard and a heated
two-car garage.
Source: MLS Property Information Network.

14 | 01907
Nahant Historical Society Executive Director Julie Tarmy looks through newspaper clippings from 1938 when John Roosevelt married Nahant resident Anne Clark.
From left, a certificate allowing residents of Nahant access to
the town during the wedding of John Roosevelt and Anne Clark;
a official certificate allowing access to Nahant; a certificate
allowing members of the press access to Nahant during the
wedding, and a certificate allowing business access.

SPRING 2023 | 15
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16 | 01907
ROOSEVELTS, continued from page 11
Coverage of the event began months
before the wedding actually happened.
“After the announcement was finally
made and the date set, preparations for
the president’s visit began,” the article
said. “A press center was located in
Town Hall. Newspapers for days carried
story after story on the upcoming
event.”
Articles on the wedding also kept
coming after it was over. One such
article was about the cake from a
Boston newspaper. The headline read,
“Big supply of wedding cake fails.”
“Five hours the Roosevelt-Clark
wedding reception lasted yesterday.
Each moment of these five hours had
its own individuality, and each little
group its newsworthy importance, for
gathered inside the small area of the
Nahant Country Club, circumscribed
by a makeshift ring of fence, were 800
of the nation’s most prominent men and
women,” the article said.
This article went over even the
smallest details of the wedding,
including the fact that there wasn’t
enough wedding cake for all the
guests and that the president, who was
paralyzed from the waist down, was
“tired from standing.”
Some articles wrote about the gowns
that were worn by the bride and bridal
party.
“The bride’s gown was fashioned of
some 20 yards of the organdy to which
countless yards of narrow white ribbon,
satin-faced on one side and dull on the
other, were appliqued in leaf pattern,”
one article said. “The neck was square
cut across the bust line where it formed
a heart shaped vestee partly concealed
by a bow of organdy.”
Another aspect of the wedding the
papers printed was a map of Nahant
showing the locations of the wedding,
including where the president’s yacht
would be docked.
Pictures of the bride and groom,
the first couple, and wedding guests
flooded the pages of these newspapers
that covered the event. In some of the
pictures you can even see the large
crowds that gathered on the side of the
road to catch a glimpse of the president
and the newlyweds as they drove by.
The wedding day of Nahant resident
Anne Clark and FDR's youngest son,
John Roosevelt.
PHOTO: NAHANT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

SPRING 2023 | 17
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18 | 01907
Love on four
hooves
Brandon Dziadose, a YACHT Program student,
leads a mini horse named Romeo around the
arena as co-founder of Minis With a Mission
Marianne Hartmann looks on.
STAFF PHOTOS: LIBBY O'NEILL
BY EMILY PAULS
You have probably heard of
therapy dogs, but have you
heard of therapy miniature
horses and donkeys? Well, thanks to
Marianne Hartmann, a Swampscott
resident and co-founder of nonprofit
organization Minis With a Mission,
you may just be able to meet some at
events in town.
“Minis With A Mission, Inc. brings
our trained miniature horses and
donkeys safely out in the community
to populations that can benefit from
the equine connection,” their website
says.
The idea for the nonprofit
sparked in 2017 after Hartmann and
Laurie Lowe, the other co-founder,
volunteered at an equine rescue.
“I had always done the visits with
the minis … and I wanted it to be a
more kind of formalized nonprofit
that exclusively did this kind of work,
so she and I both branched off and
Amesbury Career and
Community Connection student,
Olivia Massa, stares down a
standard donkey named Emma.

SPRING 2023 | 19
started our own nonprofit,” Hartmann
said.
The organization became an official
independent nonprofit in 2020.
“Marianne and Laurie have since
earned their certification in Equine
Assisted Learning and offer programs
to help individuals develop life skills
working with horses as the teacher,”
their website says.
While the animals live in Ipswich,
Hartmann and Lowe bring them all
around to places such as assisted living
spaces, rehab centers, and hospitals,
as well as to events such as Pride in
Swampscott. For this event, Fluff
(short for Fluffanutter) the miniature
horse dresses up in pride colors and
Romeo the miniature horse has
learned how to accept donation money
given to him.
“We always say anywhere we
can bring a little mini joy,”
Hartmann said.
Almost all of
the animals at
Minis With
a Mission
came from the rescue where Hartmann
and Lowe originally volunteered.
“They’ve all been rescued from
different situations including kill pens
in the south,” Hartmann said.
One of the miniature horses is
missing an eye due to the neglect she
endured before she was rescued.
When people interact with
miniature horses and donkeys, it can
be a “transformative” experience for
them, Hartmann said. One place
they have taken the animals to is
the Recovery Center of America at
Danvers.
“We had some experiences there
with the clients who go there that were
just phenomenal, people who hadn’t
really been able to speak up in groups,
but once they started interacting with
the
minis, they were all talking a mile a
minute with everyone around them
and just connecting with the minis on
a very deep personal level and it really
is a beautiful thing,” Hartmann said.
In February, a group of students
from transitional programs at high
schools in the area visited the animals
in Ipswich. One such program was
the YACHT Program at Ipswich
High School which “provides a postsecondary
transition program for 18-
22 students with various disabilities,
focusing on communication skills,” and
other living and work skills, its official
description says.
“We’ve been looking to establish
some community partnerships which
would help expand career pathways
for our students,” Molly Benson, a
teacher in the YACHT Program, said.
THERAPY, page 20
Ipswich's Laurie Lowe, co-founder of nonprofit organization Minis With a Mission, gives a standard donkey named Kitty some love.

20 | 01907
THERAPY, continued from page 19
“Marianne was so gracious in offering
us this opportunity. And so right away
just sort of jumped right in and tried
to find ways that we could each help
each other out.”
YACHT Program student Brandon
Dziadose has an interest in horses
and spent the morning learning more
about them and walking them around.
He really connected with them,
Benson said.
Hartmann pointed out how
comfortable the students became with
the animals. While they were nervous
at first, after a short time they were
petting and brushing them.
Being involved with animals,
particularly horses, is something
Hartmann had always wanted to do.
“They really are true natural
empaths and they really connect with
people and you can’t lie to a horse
and a horse doesn’t lie to you. The
feedback that you get from them is
just amazing,” Hartmann said.
Ipswich's Laurie Lowe, co-founder of nonprofit organization Minis With a Mission, leads miniature donkeys
and horses toward the arena.

SPRING SPRING
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Co-founder of Minis With a Mission Marianne Hartmann, left, and Brandon Dziadose, a YACHT
Program student, right, wiggle their fingers to cue Romeo to smile.
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22 | 01907
A STATELY READER
Swampscott's Stacy DeBole overseas the State Library of Massachusetts.
PHOTO: STACY DEBOLE
BY ANTHONY CAMMALLERI
While more and more people
each year rely on internet
search engines for their
information, State Librarian Stacy
DeBole believes that, for most, there’s
no better way to learn than a trip to the
library.
DeBole, of Swampscott, was
named state librarian in December,
and now oversees the State Library of
Massachusetts, ensuring that everyone,
including state government officials,
have access to accurate and thorough
information.
Currently, Debole said, state librarians
are working to diversify interpretations of
historical documents at the State House.
“We're going to try to take some
of the documents that are in the State
Library, and add some other voices to the
interpretation of those state documents
so that they’re more inclusive and include
more of the contributions from people
that haven’t before been given any sort of
consideration,” Debole said.
In 2019, Former Governor Charlie
Baker appointed DeBole to the
Massachusetts Library Board of Library
Commissioners. Debole, among eight
other commissioners, works to set a
high standard for Massachusetts public
libraries, and helps the state’s 1,600 public
libraries achieve that standard. DeBole
referred to the job as “an incredible honor”
that she takes very seriously.
DeBole spent the majority of her
career working at libraries, from the
Suffolk University Library, the New
England School of Law Library, the
Salem State University Library, and as
director of the Everett Public Libraries.
Her love for libraries, she said, began
when she was 14 or 15 years old, and took
a trip to the Boston Public Library to
research former Massachusetts Governor
James Michael Curley. Her experience
reading Joseph Dinneen’s “The Purple
Shamrock” in the reading room made
DeBole a library regular.

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“I thought ‘wow, they're leaving me,
this young kid from Charlestown, alone
with this obviously one-of-a-kind book.
I was just so impressed by that. I was
so impressed that I had access, all this
knowledge, all this information,” DeBole
said.
Originally setting out to study law
at Suffolk University, working parttime
in the Suffolk University Library,
DeBole started her career in public
service working for the Office of Jobs
and Community Services for the City
of Boston. She later went on to become
program manager of employment
training programs under the Job
Training Partnership Act administered
by the Neighborhood Development and
Employment Agency.
In 1987, DeBole, about to start a
family, took a step back from her career.
By the time her daughter was in middle
school, DeBole was ready to start working
again. When her husband (who she met
working at the Suffolk Library), asked
her what made her happy, DeBole did not
have to think twice.
“I remember my husband having a
conversation with me and he's like ‘oh,
what things in life did
you do that made you most happy?’ I
don't think I hesitated. I said ‘well, I was
always happy working in the library,’ ”
DeBole said.
For DeBole, being a librarian means
a lot more than lending out free books.
Discussing the history and evolution of
libraries since their inception in ancient
civilizations, DeBole said that she believes
public access to libraries is one of the
cornerstones of democracy.
“We all, here in the United States,
have access to information to make better
decisions — I mean, that's incredible on
its face. It's what differentiates us from a
lot of other places in the world and what
makes us special, and probably, what
guarantees our democracy. The fact that
we can inform ourselves on all kinds of
decisions that we'll make and all kinds
of decisions that are being made on our
behalf,” she said.
DeBole paraphrased former Google
Director of Technology Craig Silverstein,
who said in 2004 that he did not believe
computers would be as good as a local
reference librarian for another 300
years. She said that while online search
engines may be convenient, they have few
filters for accuracy, in contrast to library
resources.
“I think a lot of people rely a lot on
a lot of readily available resources. That
isn't the best way to make decisions. I
just want people to try and be cautious
as we go forward,” DeBole said. “You
hop on a search engine, and the search
engine returns some facts. It may not
be what you're looking for, and it may
not be reliable information. A lot of that
information is owned by private sources,
and they have their own agenda.”
The State Library, along with libraries
across the Commonwealth, DeBole
said, are working to expand their online
resources to make library services,
including legislative and historical
documents, more convenient to a wider
range of people.
“We try to make those resources fully
available to everyone. It’s the same thing
at the State Library and all libraries,
making sure that we keep patrons up to
date so they know what's available to
them. You can still use that same device
you have in your hands, but maybe
instead of jumping on a search engine,
maybe a local library instead or at least
give us a chance. I think you'll be very
happily surprised,” DeBole said.
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24 | 01907
ALL IN THE FOOTBALL FAMILY
The future is bright. Peter Bush is all smiles after accepting
the job of head football coach in Swampscott.
PHOTO: SWAMPSCOTT ATHLETICS TWITTER
BY JOEY BARRETT
Peter Bush will soon take the headset and clipboard onto Blocksidge Field in Swampscott, home of the Big Blue.
STAFF FILE PHOTO
Whether you discovered the
news from a friend, Twitter, or
elsewhere, Wednesday, Feb. 8
was a good day for Swampscott football fans.
Peter Bush has been named head coach
of the Big Blue, replacing Bob Serino and
following in the footsteps of his father Bill –
Swampscott’s head coach from 1987-1998.
Peter, a former player and member of the
Swampscott Hall of Fame (2011), has served
as Swampscott’s defensive coordinator and
special teams coach the past 12 years. He’s
been a part of two Super Bowl victories for
Swampscott (2019, 2021) and is “extremely
excited” to take over such a historic program.
“I’m excited to keep these traditions
going and make sure we keep the winning
ways going,” Peter said. “The blueprint here
is in place as to what it's going to take to be
successful.”
Bill, who said he and his wife Ann are
“very proud,” believes his son knows the
system and is ready to go.
Also, to give Swampscott fans some
chills, he added his son might “take a little
something from all of us” when talking about
some of the great coaches in program history.
“I think he’s going to bring some
consistency and do a lot of the things we did
in the past,” Bill said. “He’s following in my
footsteps a little bit, but I think he'll be his
own person.”
Returning the favor, Peter said he’s “very
fortunate” to have played for his father.
“Everything I’ve learned in high school,
I’ve taken with me,” Peter Bush said. “It’s all
the mentors I've had over these years that
have shaped me into the man I am today.”
On top of X’s and O’s, Bill said his
son brings three key things to his players:
commitment, dedication, and hard work.
“I think he’s already passed it along to
some of the players over the past few years,”
Bill said. “I think it works both ways [and] I
think the kids really enjoy him.”
As for the hiring process, Peter said “it
happened very quickly.”
“This is something that, since Coach
Serino stepped down, I’ve had in the back of
my mind,” Peter said. “Him [Serino] and I
have spoken about it before, and it’s kind of
been an on-and-off conversation.”
And if you ask Serino, he believes the
whole community wanted Peter to take over.
“It’s great satisfaction, I’m at ease, and
I know the program is in great hands with
Coach Bush,” Serino said. “I think they’re
[the young staff ] going to bring a lot of
energy.”
Energy indeed. Serino said Peter will
“do anything for the program he’s associated
with” and is “absolutely committed.”
“He’s a very organized coach [and]
person,” Serino said. “And the camps that he
runs – he’s unbelievable.”
When asked what he values in a strong
program, Peter was quick to answer with
commitment, sacrifice, determination, and
teamwork.
“I think I, and the rest of the coaching
staff, have always done a good job of making
the players understand [that] football is the
ultimate team sport,” Peter said. “The lessons
that these players are going to learn will help
them.”
As for Friday nights at Blocksidge Field,
they’ll be here faster than you know it.
“We’ve been a pretty exciting football
team to watch the past number of years,
so we’re going to make sure to keep the
excitement up,” Peter said.
Serino, who jokingly said he was more
nervous than Peter about the situation, said
he’ll be there front-and-center on game days.
“We’ve got something good going there,”
Serino said. “I’m looking for him to do
wonders with the program.”

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26 | 01907
HE SERVES THOSE WHO SERVED
BY ALEXANDRA RODRIGUEZ
Michael Sweeney, who served a stint
in Afghanistan during his five
years of active duty for the U.S.
Army, is Swampscott’s director of
veterans' services. As part of his service, his work to
honor local veterans Jared J. Raymond, Jennifer J.
Harris, and their families has been remarkable.
Sweeney understands the challenges that many
returning military members encounter. A staff
sergeant in the Massachusetts National Guard,
Sweeney has volunteered with the Military Friends
Foundation for a decade and sits on its board of
directors.
Throughout his incumbency, Sweeney’s
advocacy for financial support for families that
have lost a loved one in military service as part of
the Gold Star Families has been a standout.
His efforts have helped raise about $200,000
annually for Gold Star Families, a non-profit
organization that honors those who have died
in active duty service, through the foundation's
“Heroes Salute” program. The program helps
provide support following their loss, such as
covering funeral expenses, transportation, and
lodging.
Sweeney organized a memorial dedication
for Jared Raymond, a U.S. Army soldier from
Swampscott who was a specialist with the 4th
Infantry Division. The memorial service was held
16 years after Raymond, who was only 20 years old,
lost his life to a roadside bomb while serving in
Iraq on September 19, 2006.
Sweeney described Raymond’s memorial, which
was dedicated at the corner of Essex Street and
Swampscott Road, as “beautiful” and added that it
was “so worthy of Specialist Raymond’s sacrifice.”
“A soldier only truly dies when their name is no
longer spoken. We must say their names,” Sweeney
said. “That is why we are here today. To honor
and remember Swampscott’s own Specialist Jared
Raymond.”
“This memorial will share Jared’s
legacy with generations to
come and they, too, will
continue to say his
name,” added Sweeney.
Months later, on
February 7, 2007, Marine
Capt. Jennifer J. Harris was killed in action in Iraq
at the age of 28.
Harris was piloting a CH-46 Sea Knight
helicopter while on a medical mission near
Baghdad. Her crew was delivering blood for
wounded Marines when their helicopter was shot
at from the ground by enemy combatants of the
al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq group, which
later renamed itself The Islamic State, in Anbar
Province in western Iraq.
The helicopter was hit by a rocket and machinegun
fire. Harris tried three times to save the
helicopter and her crew from crashing, but was not
able to. All seven people on board died.
Sweeney’s efforts and leadership led him
to the creation of the foundation's “Warrior
MWR” program, which brings together veterans,
military families, caregivers, and families of the
fallen for free activities before, during, and after
a deployment. Through the program, combat
veterans provide support to fellow veterans in a
tension-free setting.
Throughout his tenure as Swampscott’s
veteran's services director, Sweeney has been an
advocate, mentor, and shoulder to lean on for
hundreds of military members and their families.
"Volunteerism is the backbone of any strong
community," said Sweeney in a statement. "That's
no more true than when it comes to veterans and
their families. The bottom line is that we have to
take care of one another.”
Jared J. Raymond's memory is in enshrined in this monument at the
corner of Essex Street and Swampscott Road.
STAFF FILE PHOTOS
Army veteran Michael Sweeney is director of veterans' services for Swampscott and Lynn.

SPRING 2023 | 27
Michael Sweeney reflects on those who served and sacrificed.
72

28 | 01907
ARTIST
AT WORK
Marblehead artist Ties Jan de Blij created this piece as a reaction to climate
change with the students of Johnson Elementary School.
STAFF PHOTOS: SPENSER HASAK

BY EMILY PAULS
For Johnson Elementary School
students, 2023 has opened their
eyes to art courtesy of Artist in
Residence Ties Jan de Blij.
The Nahant Education Foundation
(NEF) funded the program to “inspire
climate action,” according to a press release
from the Foundation, with Jan de Blij
beginning his work with students on Jan. 18.
“Jan de Blij, an abstract expressionist,
believes art can connect people and bring
awareness to significant issues,” the press
release said. “He’s also a fan of collective art
creation, or when many people are invited to
contribute to the same piece.”
His commitment to reflecting global
concerns in his art dovetails Jan de Blij' work
with the focus Johnson Elementary School
has made since fall 2021 on climate change,
Principal Kevin Andrews said.
“This program will be an incredible
and unique opportunity to continue that
programming,” said Andrews.
Students visited the Peabody Essex
Museum to see an exhibition on climate
change. Then, from Jan. 23 to 27, Jan de Blij
worked with them to create an art display in
the school.
The children used what they had learned
about climate change and climate action to
brainstorm ideas of what the display should
look like, Jan de Blij said.
“We would like to find what made the
biggest impression on them, what their
experiences were like at the exhibits, and
what stuck with them,” he said. “Have a more
in depth conversation. ‘So, these ideas that
you guys have and these impressions that you
have, how do they relate to each other? Can
we identify common themes?’”
He gathered their ideas and used them as
inspiration to sketch the walls of the school,
before the children helped paint his sketch.
The final was two murals, one aquaticthemed
and the other forest-themed.
The aquatic mural, filled with fish and
other sea creatures, is on the walls in the
entrance of the school, Jan de Blij said.
“When you enter the school, you enter
when you're completely submerged,” Jan de
Blij said.
When one walks on the ramp in the
school’s entrance, their head comes above
water when they reach the more elevated part
of it.
The forest mural is inside the library, he
said. The idea for this one came from one
of the prompts he gave to the students: “If
I close my eyes and think about climate
change, the image that comes to my mind
is…”
“Most of them said animals, flowers, and
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trees, so then I said, ‘Okay, let's all design
your own flower, your own tree, and your
own sea creature and then put that on these
two locations,’” Jan de Blij said. “So only after
the kids determined those are their themes I
said ‘Oh, let's do that on that mural.’”
The students, he said, loved the final
product.
Jan de Blij said this was not the first time
he has worked with the children of Nahant.
Last summer, he helped run an art
summer camp there with a marketing agency
called RazHer Collaborative. At the camp,
the children were able to contribute to an art
piece through brainstorming and painting.
“I help them, I guide them, but the
children make the art,” Jan de Blij said. “So
that was quite a success and the children
loved it.”
The upcoming program at Johnson
Elementary School is something Jan de Blij
wanted to be involved with because he is
passionate about topics like climate change.
“I believe that if I can play a role in
somehow inspiring the children to take
action to create a better world then that's,
for me as an artist, the ultimate goal,” Jan de
Blij said.
Now with this project done, he is shifting
his focus to two projects: a new gallery he is
opening in Marblehead, and a film project
that he will shoot in Nahant.
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30 | 01907
A SUPER ANNIVERSARY
FOR SWAMPSCOTT
BY JERRY DISTEFANO
Rewind 50 years. That’s when
Swampscott traveled to
Nickerson Field at Boston
University and defeated Catholic
Memorial 28-21 to become the first-ever
Eastern Mass. Super Bowl champion.
With head coach Stan Bondelevitch at
the helm, Mike Jauron was quarterbacking
the Big Blue – who went 11-0 – and threw
a touchdown pass to Scotty McCallum to
win the game on Dec. 2, 1972.
“I still remember this day like it was
yesterday,” Jauron said. “It really was a
special year that I was lucky enough to
share with amazing people.”
Amazing people indeed. Swampscott’s
Don Page led the way with 251 rushing
yards and two touchdowns, while Ray
DiPietro added 97 yards on the ground.
Jim O’Connor, who coached Catholic
Memorial during that Super Bowl, died
on Feb. 25. O’Connor was the school’s first
head football coach and won two Division
Two Super Bowl titles in 1973 and 1978.
He was 87.
Despite his undefeated team losing to
Swampscott, O’Connor said that he was
proud to have been a part of such a big
moment in Massachusetts high school
football history.
“For all of us, there was a sense of being
part of history and of accomplishment,”
he said at a 10th anniversary celebration of
the game.
When asked to go back to the game
against Catholic Memorial – which was
also undefeated heading in – Jauron’s quick
response said it all.
“When we took the field, there were so
many fans in the stands for us and Catholic
Memorial that it just made this game and
day even more amazing,” he said.
From Swampscott’s talent to its
preparation, Jauron said the Big Blue were
“all on the same page” that season.
“I played football for many years, at
the high school and college level, and that
1972 team was the best team I ever was
a part of,” Jauron said. “It trickled down
from the coaches to the players, but we all
had one goal in mind.”
He also remembers the sense of
community, adding it wasn’t just the
players in pads who made an impact.
“Whether you were a coach [or] player
on the team, cheerleader, in the band, or
just a fan… when we took the field back
then, it was a big event that many people
were a part of,” Jauron said.
On top of its win, 10 Swampscott
players were selected to the Harry Agganis
All-Star team that season: Roy Ostrovitz,
Jeff Hegan, Billy Wharff, John Hoffman,
Peter Cassidy, Wayne Smith, John Toner,
Page, and DiPietro.
And as far as fun facts go, the game
was played on an icy day on AstroTurf, so
players received special shoes from BU.
When asked to sum up the day, and
year, one word stood out among the rest
for Jauron: fun.
“It truly was just a ton of fun to be a
part of this program,” Jauron said. “It was
one of the best times in my life that I will
always cherish and never forget.”

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PILLARS OF FAITH
Rabbi Michael Ragozin of Congregation Shirat Hayam of
the North Shore.
STAFF PHOTOS: SPENSER HASAK
BY RYAN VERMETTE
On Jan. 6, an antisemitic incident
occurred in Swampscott near
Redington Street and Forest
Avenue, where a swastika was spray painted
on one of the sidewalks.
Six days later, the community rallied
together at Linscott Park for a “No Place
For Hate” rally, and at the forefront were
two of the most prominent Jewish leaders
in the town. Though the person responsible
for the act attempted to create a rift in
the community, Rabbi Michael Ragozin
of the Congregation Shirat Hayam and
Rabbi Yossi Lipsker of Chabad of the
North Shore have dedicated their lives to
bringing people together through their
faith. As a result, they have learned to
combat antisemitism not with violence or
retaliation, but awareness.
As antisemitic acts continue to rise
in the United States, the incident in
Swampscott brought the issue to a local
level. Ragozin said that all antisemitic
acts, including nonviolent ones, need to be
condemned.
“I think rising antisemitism is a
problem in our country,” Ragozin said.
“There are different forms of antisemitism
which have different levels of impact for
different people, but there’s no question
that at the end of the day, the violent
murder of Jews by antisemites happens. It’s
a real issue that needs to be addressed.”
Ragozin grew up in Seattle in a
home where his family celebrated Jewish
holidays, but did not practice the faith
regularly. He attended a Jewish preschool,
and in middle school he read the novel
Exodus by Leon Uris, which led him to
become a Zionist. As he went through
college, he realized his circle of friends
was mostly Jewish though, like Ragozin,
many were secular in their practices. He
was proud to be Jewish, but realized he did
not know much about the Jewish faith, and
decided that it was time to practice it fully.
“From an early age I’ve had this sense
of ‘Im Jewish and I'm proud to be Jewish,’”
he said. “All of those things kind of
culminated in my early 20s post-college
realizing ‘I'm really proud to be Jewish,
but I don't know anything about it and I
should do something about that.’”
From there, Ragozin learned the
Hebrew alphabet at age 25, studied with a
rabbi every Monday night, and then spent
two years in Israel.
Soon after, he became fully immersed in
Jewish life and attended rabbinical school
in Virginia. After completing school, he
began applying to synagogues who were
looking for rabbis. He found Congregation
Shirat Hayam in Swampscott after his
initial search spanned only four cities.
Ragozin has been at the synagogue
since 2015 and enjoys the tight-knit
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Rabbi Yossi Lipsker of Chabad of the North Shore.

SPRING 2023 | 33
RABBIS, continued from page 31
community of the town. He has always had
a passion for helping others, and that came
out once again when local town officials
and Jewish leaders came together for the
rally.
Ragozin tries to confront antisemitism
whenever he can. However, he realizes that
he cannot devote all of his energy to it, but
rather needs to focus on his teachings and
helping others find their spiritual practices.
He recognizes that continuing to
practice the Jewish faith and its teachings
can be an indirect way of combating
antisemitism.
“I think that a lot of purpose behind
spiritual practices is ‘How do I fully live
as a human being and wear the pain that
I observe and the suffering that I observe,
and the fear and the angst that I might
feel, but also then create space for the joy
and the triumph, and the glory, and all
the good things,’” he said. “I think for me
a lot of the spiritual practice, particularly
around Shibat, has to do with creating a life
that allows us to continue to search for a
meaning and purpose which, in some ways,
helps us transcend the vagrancies and the
challenges everyday living presents.”
Lipsker said that he couldn’t agree more
with Ragozin’s statement.
“I feel like teaching Judaism is itself
the best answer to bigotry and hatred,”
he said.
Lipsker founded Chabad of the North
Shore in Swampscott in 1992, and it has
since expanded to Lynn, Peabody, and
Everett. He grew up in Pennsylvania, but
had strong connections to the North Shore
through rabbinical school. He felt that the
area, specifically Swampscott, was a place
that needed a focus on helping individuals
of the Jewish faith feel that they were a part
of something bigger.
“I felt that there was a real need for the
kind of energy and an approach very much
focused on the individual people as being
the most important pieces of the wider
picture,” Lipsker said.
He gave an example of menorah
lightings around the North Shore, which
is something that Chabad of the North
Shore started. He said it brings the
Jewish community together in a way that
promotes Jewish pride while also fighting
antisemitism in a non-combative way.
“We have about 25 menorahs, one in
pretty much every city or town on the
North Shore. In particular, in the last
few years, it's grown. This year, we had
an increase in the towns that wanted
to have their own menorah and the
gatherings themselves. All of those places
together, close to 3,000 people came out
to participate. In each place, there was an
added layer of being cognizant of the need
to address and send a clear message that
antisemitism won't be tolerated,” Lipsker
said.
Last month, the town declared January
as Antisemitism Awareness Month, adding
to a community that had already had a
longstanding support of Judaism. Ragozin
hopes that declaration continues to advance
the conversation on antisemitism, starting
in the classroom.
“It should create a priority for the
school to ratchet up its Holocaust
education,” Ragozin said. “It's been proven
that Holocaust education is not just
about antisemitism, it's been proven that
Holocaust education helps people develop
a better awareness of other minorities and
the importance of not being a bystander
but an upstander. I think we should be
seeing in the Swampscott schools an
elevation of that type of education, which
I think will create a better citizenry within
the people who grew up in this town and
hopefully have ramifications in a larger
sphere.”
Whether it's through education or
community menorah lightings, Ragozin
and Lipsker continue to not only preserve
their faith, but use it as a way to push
antisemitism out of their community while
helping others discover and be proud of
their Jewish identity.
497 Humphrey Street, Swampscott, MA
781-599-3411
Mon - Th 9-5, Fri 9-3 781-581-7200
Rabbi Michael Ragozin of Congregation Shirat
Hayam of the North Shore.

34 | 01907
A CLENCHED
FIST SPEAKS
Swampscott poet Enzo Silon Surin has received the Massachusetts Book
Award for his collection of poetry, "When My Body Was A Clinched Fist."
STAFF PHOTOS: SPENSER HASAK

SPRING 2023 | 35
BY EMILY PAULS
Swampscott resident and poet Enzo Silon Surin said he
finds inspiration for his writing everywhere.
“The right music, the right light, the right
conversation, everything inspires me and I think it's because I'm
always looking for what things mean and why things happen, the
way that they happen,” Silon Surin said. “So because of that I feel
like the entire world is open, for me as a point of inspiration.”
Silon Surin has always been a writer. He initially started out
with script writing. One rainy day in junior high school, he was
looking out of the window when something changed.
He was feeling sad that day. Teenagers, he said, have “this
mood thing” that consumes them and he was “predestined for the
dramatic.”
“So I was wallowing and I look outside, and there was this tree
right outside the window, and the rainwater was cascading on the
side of the tree in a subtle, unusual way,” Silon Surin said.
It was almost as if the tree was crying, he said, which made him
consider whether trees can become sad.
At that point, Silon Surin knew he had switched from
something, although he did not know what it was.
“Then I knew something was different when the next question
came,” Silon Surin said. “I was like, ‘I wonder if the tree is crying
because it’s sad or it knows that I’m sad, but I can’t cry my own
tears.’”
There were a lot of things he felt inside but couldn’t say, he said.
“That day, that tree was expressing what I was feeling and I
kind of tucked that away, but I wrote it down,” he added.
That was the day Silon Surin became a poet.
He showed his teacher what he wrote and she asked him if he
knew anything about poetry. He’s been a poet ever since.
Years later, Silon Surin has been awarded for his poetry. He
won the 2021 Massachusetts Book Award from the Massachusetts
Center for the Book, which held its official ceremony for the 2020,
2021, and 2022 winners on Jan. 18, for his poetry book When My
Body Was a Clinched Fist.
The book covers his experience growing up in Queens, New
York in the late 80s.
“It’s … really coming of age at a time where the social scene
was drugs, some violence, police brutality, that so forth,” he said.
“There was a tough time, late 80s, early 90s, and trying to come of
age in that environment.”
Silon Surin was born in Haiti, which “added some weight to”
his experiences in Queens, he said.
“I think it allowed me to have some sort of perspective as well,
that I was able to see things from the outside in,” Silon Surin said.
“At some point, I was just like, ‘how do I tell this story?’”
Receiving the Massachusetts Book Award was not something
he was expecting, but he had still been holding out hope for it.
He had attended the center’s ceremonies before and, as a writer
in Massachusetts, understood the significance the award carries.
When he saw the email that he had won, he said he “kind of
screamed” because of how much it meant to him.
“Then my two boys came running into the room, and they
screamed with me and started to jump up and down,” he said.
While he actually received the award a few years ago, he
said having the in-person ceremony with his fellow authors and
winners was “wonderful.” Silon Surin’s next poetry book will be
released in May and is titled American Scapegoat.
He said it picks up where When My Body Was a Clinched
Fist left off. It is about a kid who survives the environment of that
book and grows up to be a father. Initially, he is relieved.
“But then he quickly realizes that being black and male puts
him in a specific category,” Silon Surin said. “And so now he has to
grapple with the world as an adult, and to feel like, ‘But I made it
through, no, my life is still at risk.’”
He added that he wrote about people like Breonna Taylor and
George Floyd.
“It’s really about America not really coming to terms with its
own history and I said as a result, the democracy of this country is
not in touch with its humanity,” Silon Surin said. “I said we need
to take a look at what’s really happening.”
A lot of research went into writing this book, he said.
The research into those injustices was more “heartbreaking”
than he thought it would be, and he questioned how he could
write this story while his own heart was breaking. He realized he
had to get past that in order to get the truth out.
“American Scapegoat is really the American story, and you
never really know what the scapegoat is,” Silon Surin said. “One
time, it’s a Black man, and other times it’s the white farmer from
Iowa, or somebody growing up in rural Alabama dealing with the
opioid epidemic. So in a lot of ways, it’s about shifting our lenses
to say, ‘We’re pinned against each other but we should really be
united together.”

36 | 01940
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