University of Redlands students and staff gathered in the Armacost Library on Sept. 24 from 10:50 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to participate in and listen to the Marathon Read of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World.” This event was part of the Campus One Read Initiative, meant to bring the University of Redlands community together around one book.
With a turnout of dozens of students and staff, the event was designed so anyone could come by to listen, or join in reading a section of the book, taking turns until the book was read from cover to cover.
“I want a community to do things with, and I really value the fact that that’s what I felt like I’ve had at Redlands for the time that I’ve been here — that this is a community,” English professor Heather Shamp, a board member of the One Read committee, said. “We step up for each other, and I see students step up for each other all the time. We all do better when we all do better, right?”
Kimmerer’s book uses the serviceberry plant and its relationships with the animals and plants around it as a gateway to explore ideas of gratitude, abundance and reciprocity. It focuses on the idea of a “gift economy,” in which people and the natural world recognize their reliance on each other. The marathon read not only provided a space to hear these ideas, but to interact with and explore them further. Shamp agreed that Kimmerer’s discussion of a collective responsibility to our community is reflected in the university.
“The idea of mosaic economies that she talks about and blending a communal reciprocity with the larger structures that we live in makes a lot of sense,” Shamp said.
The Campus One Read provided an opportunity to consider the ways in which Kimmerer’s concepts apply to reciprocity within the university community.
The Campus One Read started over 20 years ago, but stopped when COVID-19 hit in 2020. It’s now the third year since it’s been back on campus, sponsored by National Endowment for the Humanities grants. A committee of staff members collaborates to pick a book yearly. The book is purchased through grant money for many students, and events are set up around the book’s themes, always including a marathon read.
The Campus One Read book committee sorts through student recommendations. Students can submit book recommendations for 2027 through the form linked to the QR code.
Hazel Gleckman is a junior majoring in Media & Communications and minoring in Business Administration. She is a reporter for the newspaper and enjoys hiking, sewing and reading in her free time.
