The Alternative Press

HALEDON, NJ - On Friday, October 19^th, 2012 at 7:00 PM and in honor of National Arts and Humanities Month, the American Labor Museum/Botto House National Landmark will welcome the general public to an evening of discussions and booksignings for the recently published books Troublemakers: Power, Representation, and the Fiction of the Mass Worker (Rutgers University Press, 2012) and The Tree in Calle Sulaco (Full Court Press, 2011). 

Presenters and authors William Scott, an associate professor of English at the University of Pittsburg,  and James Dette, a novelist, will lead question and answer sessions following their presentations and sign copies of their books, which will be available for purchase.  Light refreshments will be served.

Professor Scott’s book Troublemakers:  Power, Representation, and the Fiction of the Mass Worker (Rutgers University Press, 2012), looks at the portrayal of workers in such novels as Upton Sinclair’sThe Jungle and Jack London’s The Iron Heel and at workers’ direct actions including sit-down strikes, sabotage, and other spontaneous acts of rank-and-file “troublemaking” on the job.

James Dette will discuss his novel, The Tree in Calle Sulaco (Full Court Press, 2011), a work of fiction which begins in 1965 with the return from exile of Latin American unionist Sergio Fidanza.. Dette’s latest novel talks about a genocide being perpetrated in Latin America where the murders of trade unionists and cooperative leaders and their supporters occur on a regular basis. Although these activists have spouses, children, friends and a community who grieve the losses, these facts are never fully revealed in the brief news articles reporting these terrible deeds.  Dette’s work for the American Institute for Free Labor Development in Ecuador provided inspiration for his latest novel.

Tours of the Museum will be available and the Museum Store will also be open to the public.  This project is funded, in part, by the Passaic County Cultural and Heritage Council at Passaic County Community College , through a grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of the State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Botto House National Landmark, home of the American Labor Museum , is located at 83 Norwood Street , Haledon , New Jersey .  It was the meeting place for over 20,000 silk mill workers during the 1913 Paterson Silk Strike.  The Museum offers a free lending library, restored period rooms, changing exhibits, Museum Store, Old World Gardens , educational programs and special events.  The Museum’s hours of operation are Monday through Friday 9AM-5PM.  Tours are offered Wednesday through Saturday from 1-4PM or by appointment.  For further information, please visit the Museum’s website www.labormuseum.net or contact the Museum at (973) 595-7953 or email labormuseum@aol.com.