NEW ORLEANS (press release) – One Book One New Orleans (OBONO) is excited to announce that they have selected The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You by Maurice Carlos Ruffin as the focus of their 2023 citywide reading and literacy campaign.
“One Book One New Orleans does vital work for our community,” says Ruffin. “I admire that the organization provides local literature to the community and fosters important discussion. Having my book be the 2023 selection is one of the great honors of my life, and I look forward to participating in the community discussion.”
The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You is a collection of nineteen short stories. Some are just over two pages; some are more than 40; all are set in New Orleans. Spanning time from 1866 to the middle of the pandemic, the stories present a cast of characters unlike any readers have seen before.
“These characters are folks that you see every day on the street, but hardly ever on the page,” says Dr. Megan Holt, OBONO’s Executive Director. “The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You puts them in the center and not on the sidelines. These stories show us the beauty of this city, while at the same time not shying away from the fact that living here is sometimes very hard.”
OBONO urges everyone in New Orleans to read The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You with the goal of fostering a deeper sense of community through this shared reading experience. OBONO partners with many organizations to remove barriers that would prevent access to the book, such as low literacy, incarceration, poverty, and visual impairment. Throughout the year, OBONO will host a series of events inspired by the book, each taking place either in a different neighborhood or online. These events are free and open to the public.
To learn more about OBONO, visit their website at onebookonenola.org. You can keep up with them on a daily basis on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. To contact them directly, email onebooknola@gmail.com.
