Women's National Book Association

WNBA Award Presentation Speech

As given by Jill A. Tardiff, WNBA National President, January 28, 2005


v.68 no.2 Spring 2005

"Where, after all do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person: The neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman and child seeks justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."*

Those remarks were made by Eleanor Roosevelt at the United Nations on March 27, 1953. Eleanor Roosevelt-first lady from 1933 to 1945, political activist, journalist, children's book author-and in 1961 the recipient of the WNBA Award.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, colleagues and friends, guests-Nancy.

I am Jill Tardiff, president of the Women's National Book Association. It is my pleasure to be here at the Library of Congress on this wonderful occasion of the 2004 WNBA Award presentation to book enthusiast extraordinaire Nancy Pearl. An award of this sort is cause for celebration-celebration of an individual's accomplishments and achievements in the book world-and celebration of the past, present and future of the Women's National Book Association. WNBA-an all volunteer organization, "since 1917, promoting reading and literacy outreach, supporting the role of women in the community of the book and bringing together women and men active in that world."

An award of this sort is cause for celebration-with a social affair to match, which, as many of you know, is no easy task to organize. For all their hard work, I recognize and thank LOC's Center for the Book's John Cole and Anne Bovi, WNBA's Katharine Turok, Carla Danziger and Michele "Mike" Leber and D.C. Chapter members for their generosity. A generosity of time, of place -and yes, even of spirit, attributes common among sincere "book people."

To reiterate, we are here tonight to present Nancy Pearl with the 2004 WNBA Award. Many of us in this room are acquainted with Nancy through her work as a librarian, book reviewer, author, radio personality. But what of this WNBA Award? And what of its past recipients?

In preparation for this evening's presentation, I searched through the roster of award recipients, becoming familiar with the names of the 53 women given the award between 1940 and 2002. Likewise, I became familiar with their respective "generic" occupations, running the gamut of the book industry-author, bookseller, critic, editor, librarian, literary agent, production manager, publisher, reviewer and sales director. Did you know that librarians have the highest number of recipients at 15, publishers and editors come next at 10, followed by critics and reviewers at five, then booksellers at three; in the allied arts, scholars and teachers are favored-and so are first ladies.

My curiosity was not satisfied with the generic. I investigated further to find the face of each woman, to find the story behind the brief biographical entry. Many recipients are forgotten in time, lost to our collective memory or simply unknown in certain circles; many came from our own ranks; some upper-crust, some "the salt of the earth"; some famous-and some even infamous. The adage "so many stories, so little time" certainly fits. Faced with the dilemma of knowing too much, my task was to place these women within the context of the Women's National Book Association-in a search for a common ground. That common ground was found in the pages of our award history, among the writings of a past award recipient.

In her ground-breaking book, Writing a Woman's Life, the late Carolyn Heilbrun, feminist scholar and author, wrote: Women of accomplishment. . .have had to confront power and control," and ". . .the hardest fact for women to admit and defend: that woman's selfhood, the right to her own story, depends upon her 'ability to act in the public domain'. . . to take one's place in whatever discourse is essential to action and the right to have one's part matter."

"The ability to act in the public domain" -strong words that aptly fit all our bookwomen, not the least among them, Nancy Pearl.

Accolades are many in the case of Nancy-". . . to know her is to love her." To know her is to model an action figure after her. To know her is to read her best-selling Book Lust, Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason, published by Sasquatch Books. Take a cue from the Chapter called "First Lines to Remember" and apply her method to the paragraphs that make up her introduction. These first lines reveal much about Nancy-the voracious reader, the impassioned guide; these first lines are powerful, conjuring memories, encouraging engagement.

Here's a sampling:

"I love to read"; "Reading has always brought me pure joy"; "It's not too much of an exaggeration-if it's one at all-to say that reading saved my life."

And last, "It's an honor to share some of my favorite books with you. I hope some of them will become your favorites, too. Let me know."

For the ability to bring books, and to keep books present in our lives, Nancy, you deserve our mutual admiration and gratitude. Your worth to the book world, to us, is immeasurable. And with that, it is my utmost honor on the behalf of the Women's National Book Association to present this award to you.

WORDS OF THE AWARD:

The Women's National Book Association presents the 2004 WNBA Award to Nancy Pearl