THE PEACE THROUGH FICTION DIALOGUE METHOD: please use it, circulate it, and send me your feedback

What is Peace Through Fiction?
I believe peace in the world begins with peace in each of us as individuals. So I developed Peace Through Fiction as a dialogue method you can use to increase peace in yourself, your students, and people in your community.

The Peace Through Fiction dialogue method uses novels and stories to guide you into thinking about your own life experiences. It helps you naturally create more peaceful ways of relating to yourself and other people.

Peace Through Fiction is portable – these directions fit on one piece of paper. You can use it with any novel or story, with any age group, and any level of literacy. It is easily translated into any language. It works well with both written fiction and oral stories.


How do I do Peace Through Fiction?
1) Read a novel or listen to a story.

2) Think about the Peace Through Fiction questions and answer them by yourself. You can write down your answers, or simply think about them for a while.

3) Optional: Share some of your answers in a dialogue with a small group, using the agreements shown below.


Peace Through Fiction questions:
POSITIVES: Which character did you like best and why? How does that character remind you of a person you like; of yourself; and of a person you dislike?

NEGATIVES: Which character did you dislike most and why? How does that character remind you of a person you dislike; of yourself; and of a person you like?

WORLD VIEWS: Which character reminds you of someone famous who interests you? In what subject is this real-life person involved? (For example, justice, politics, sports, music, education). On that subject, what could you personally do to increase peace in yourself, and between yourself and other people?


Peace Through Fiction dialogue agreements:
* Listening to other people’s answers with an open heart and mind.
* Respecting each other’s different choices, even if you don’t agree.
* Asking questions to find out more about each other, instead of arguing.
* Supporting and trusting each other.
* Having fun!


Peace Through Fiction uses the reading theory called "text connections." Text connections happen when the reader makes a personal connection between the story and something in their own life. You read deeper, and find more meaning, when you make real-world connection from the characters in a story to yourself in real life.

If you use Peace Through Fiction with books and stories, you'll find it starts to change the way you think about the real things in your life. It will change the way you react to other people, and the way you handle your life experiences. Along the way, you become more peaceful, and you bring more peace to the world.


Who can I contact to ask questions about Peace Through Fiction?
Please contact Nicole Hunter by e-mail at: nicole.hunter.books@gmail.com


Peace Through Fiction dialogue method by Nicole Hunter is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.PeaceThroughFiction.com.

Dubai to JFK on a plane: metaphor for living

Heading home from Dar Es Salaam, I changed planes in Dubai for the 14-hour flight to JFK, wondering how best to manage the long plane trip.

I'd felt uncomfortably antsy on my way to Dar Es Salaam, unaccustomed to the long confinement and sitting in cramped economy class, frequently checking the flight clock which had apparently turned to stone.

So on the way home, I decided to go outside of time. To live and be outside of time.

Not in a Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five way: "Listen: Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time..."

Just being outside of time. Experiencing, savoring the now -- actually, even living outside the limited concept of "now." All this instead of constantly asking, "How soon will I get there?"

Wow.

It worked.

Bliss.

I want to live outside of time more often.

Ernest Hemingway and me

"I love Africa and I feel it's another home, and any time a man can feel that, not counting where he's born, it's where he's meant to go." ~ Hemingway

THE PEACE THROUGH FICTION DIALOGUE METHOD: please use it, circulate it, and send me your feedback

What is Peace Through Fiction?
I believe peace in the world begins with peace in each of us as individuals. So I developed Peace Through Fiction as a dialogue method you can use to increase peace in yourself, your students, and people in your community.

The Peace Through Fiction dialogue method uses novels and stories to guide you into thinking about your own life experiences. It helps you naturally create more peaceful ways of relating to yourself and other people.

Peace Through Fiction is portable – these directions fit on one piece of paper. You can use it with any novel or story, with any age group, and any level of literacy. It is easily translated into any language. It works well with both written fiction and oral stories.


How do I do Peace Through Fiction?
1) Read a novel or listen to a story.

2) Think about the Peace Through Fiction questions and answer them by yourself. You can write down your answers, or simply think about them for a while.

3) Optional: Share some of your answers in a dialogue with a small group, using the agreements shown below.


Peace Through Fiction questions:
POSITIVES: Which character did you like best and why? How does that character remind you of a person you like; of yourself; and of a person you dislike?

NEGATIVES: Which character did you dislike most and why? How does that character remind you of a person you dislike; of yourself; and of a person you like?

WORLD VIEWS: Which character reminds you of someone famous who interests you? In what subject is this real-life person involved? (For example, justice, politics, sports, music, education). On that subject, what could you personally do to increase peace in yourself, and between yourself and other people?


Peace Through Fiction dialogue agreements:
* Listening to other people’s answers with an open heart and mind.
* Respecting each other’s different choices, even if you don’t agree.
* Asking questions to find out more about each other, instead of arguing.
* Supporting and trusting each other.
* Having fun!


Peace Through Fiction uses the reading theory called "text connections." Text connections happen when the reader makes a personal connection between the story and something in their own life. You read deeper, and find more meaning, when you make real-world connection from the characters in a story to yourself in real life.

If you use Peace Through Fiction with books and stories, you'll find it starts to change the way you think about the real things in your life. It will change the way you react to other people, and the way you handle your life experiences. Along the way, you become more peaceful, and you bring more peace to the world.


Who can I contact to ask questions about Peace Through Fiction?
Please contact Nicole Hunter by e-mail at: nicole.hunter.books@gmail.com


Peace Through Fiction dialogue method by Nicole Hunter is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.PeaceThroughFiction.com.

"Jiskia Upo Nyumbani" - My Photos from Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, August 2009

Here's the slideshow of my photos from Dar Es Salaam -- pix of the city and university, of the 6th Pan African Reading For All Conference, and, most importantly -- the people. My heart found home in Dar Es Salaam, and I will return to the city and the people who are dear to my heart.

Dar Es Salaam

Click on the photo above to access my public web album on Picasa 3. (photo is my cat Libby wishing me "bon voyage" to Dar Es Salaam on 7 August 2009)

When you get to Picasa, you'll see the "Slideshow" button -- top left on the album display. Just click that to start the show.

Notes:
1) Fyi, you'll see my alter-ego "6th Pan African RFA" listed on the album display, instead of "Nicole Hunter." I'm also the conference blogger but don't post a headshot there.
2) You can adjust the timing to read captions (click on bottom of screen to reveal slideshow controls).

Friday morning in Dar - new tweets on Twitter

Habari ya asubuhi from beautiful Dar Es Salaam -- Friday, 14 August. Check out my tweets from this morning on Twitter: click here to go to my Twitter page.

Ngugi wa Thiong'o - Keynote Address at Pan African Conference

Ngugi wa Thiong'o gave a two-part keynote address, 11-12 August, at the 6th Pan African Reading For All Conference in Dar Es Salaam. He spoke on the importance of maintaining all mother tongues, in Africa and around the world, and creating dialogue between the languages through translation.

Click here to read my notes on Ngugi's creative, visionary, and transformative keynote address.

Writing from Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Arrived safe and sound in Dar Es Salaam Sat 8 August, right on schedule -- about 3 PM Dar time (7 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time). Settled in at the hotel, went down to the open-air restaurant for some delicious bottled water, watched a little Tanzanian TV, and slept very well right until my wake-up call at 6:30 this morning.

Today I went to Kariakoo Market, other shopping districts, and to two points on the Indian Ocean - Slipway and Coco Beach. My guides on these excursions were the marvelous gentlemen Bashir and Mr. Idi, who work for the hotel. I have excellent photos of our day, but haven't been able to post them due to connectivity problems on this end. I may end up posting all pix after my return to U.S. -- Ditto for Twitter -- haven't been able to get on their site to tweet since landing in Dar.

The conference starts tomottow with opening ceremonies and the Burt Award event -- for excellence in African young adult fiction. I'll blog updates as often as I can from the conference, which is being held at the University of Dar Es Salaam.

Follow me on Twitter

I've been tweeting way more than blogging lately -- and that's going to continue as I make my world around the world to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, for the 6th Pan African Reading For All Conference.

Click here to follow me on Twitter.

My Twitter page is http://twitter.com/PeaceNicole

As the Pan African Conference blogger, I'll be live blogging and posting pictures at the conference blog (click here) -- starting on Sun 9 August when I arrive in Dar Es Salaam. The conference runs Mon 10 - Fri 14 August, and I'll be posting on the conference blog through Sat 15 August.