Economy, Working Poor, Focus of 'One Book, One Community' Project

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The Working Poor, by David K. Shipler

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The economy and jobs are a main focus of the current presidential race and other national political contests this year. The 2012 One Book, One Community project at the University of Arkansas is joining the discussion through the national best seller, The Working Poor: Invisible in America, written by David K. Shipler.

Shipler, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1987, will give a public lecture at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25 in the Verizon Ballroom at the Arkansas Union. There will be a question and answer session and book signing after the lecture. The event is free and open to the public.

The Working Poor “addresses the circumstances of people who are employed and working hard yet remain stuck below the poverty line,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart in a video message supporting the project. “Our community is no stranger to this phenomenon. … I want to encourage everyone — faculty, staff, upper classmen and community members — to also read this book and learn more about this growing crisis.”

 The Working Poor is being read on campus this semester by freshmen in English composition courses, and has been added to the curriculum by faculty in several departments, including sociology. Many local book clubs affiliated with the Fayetteville Public Library are also reading it this fall. Shipler will speak to those club members Friday, Oct. 26, at the library’s annual Gathering of the Groups luncheon.

“This is the fourth year of One Book, One Community at the University of Arkansas,” said David Jolliffe, co-chair of the committee that selected the book. “We think that once again we have found a book that is relevant, that raises and explores important issues and that will stimulate a discussion throughout our campus and community.”

Several events related to the issues raised in Shipler’s book are being planned on campus in the weeks leading up to his appearance. The full schedule is being posted at the One Book, One Community website.

“The Working Poor was timely when it was published in 2004. It is even more so today, after the recession and slow economic recovery,” said Kevin Fitzpatrick, co-chair of the project. “There are even more people today who share the circumstances Shipler describes. He offers a thorough look at a complex problem, and offers realistic ideas for ways to address this crisis.”

David Shipler worked as a New York Times correspondent before writing several bestselling books, including Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land, which won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction. He has recently written two books on the subject of civil liberties, and currently is the author of The Shipler Report blog.