Colombian man Luis Soriano, a teacher from the town of La Gloria has started a new literary movement. But instead of germinating in a hip cafe or an academic program, this movement needs only eight legs and 4,800 books.
“This began as a necessity; then it became an obligation; and after that a custom,” he explained, squinting at the hills undulating into the horizon. “Now,” he said, “it is an institution.”
…The idea came to him, he said, after he witnessed as a young teacher the transformative power of reading among his pupils, who were born into conflict even more intense than when he was a child.
What amazes me is not that this man started a mobile library on a teacher’s salary of $350 a month, but that by doing so he’s become the most popular man in his hometown. Paul Cohelo seems to be a favorite, at one point he was robbed but (after tying him to a tree to have time to search) the bandits only took one book.
Full article at newyorktimes.com/Americas.
