The maple and oak trees that line Somerville’s Community Path jostle in the wind, each breeze the breath of serenity. Near Davis Square, the cloistered avenue is dotted with artwork, little free libraries and salvaged sculptures, all donated generously by neighbors. Such is the spirit of the path, which has come to embody the joy, creativity and reciprocity of our community.
The latest book I’ve been devouring has me thinking a lot about community. I clutch it as I walk eastward down the path. “Living, Together,” an anthology on communal living edited by Samantha Paige Rosen, is filled with practical advice, skills and encouragement for building community. The book feels at home here, where families push strollers past me and cyclists swerve around groups of pedestrians.
I’ve never lived anywhere with a stronger sense of community than Somerville, my beloved 4.3 square miles of density. Here it is easy to forget how starved for socializing so many people are, how hard it is for people to make friends or find people to fall in love with without swiping on a screen. We have so many events that bring us together, from the nationally recognized Honk! festival to our Big Gay Dance Party to hidden gems at venues such as The Loov and The Jungle.
When I ran for mayor, I tried to contribute to that culture with a series of campaign concerts featuring local bands – WillieFests, they were named by event organizer and musician David “Biff” Jubinsky. Every concert, canvass and ice cream party that we hosted was an opportunity to build the kind of close-knit community that so many of my neighbors pine for. Yet I know there is more that we can do.
As I reach the intersection of Highland Road, where the sounds of children playing at Lexington Park bounce in the background, I stop for a moment to enjoy nature. Monarch butterflies flutter between native pollinators planted by the Somerville Garden Club onto the colorful flowers below.
The word “anthology” combines two ancient Greek words that together literally mean “flower-gathering.” Used originally to describe a book of poetry, the word itself is a metaphor for the beauty revealed only once various perspectives are combined between two covers. In “Living, Together,” Rosen collects interviews with and essays from 21 writers and organizers of various ages, races and religions. The testimonials within are united by the simple truths that our best lives can be achieved through community and that, sometimes, to be in community you have to be willing to build it.
In Somerville, we’re really good at studying problems, a bit worse at solving them. We can talk about the impacts of loneliness, poverty or a lack of civic engagement, but many people struggle to see how they can be part of the solution. That’s natural, to me, in a capitalist society that teaches us to value independence and autonomy over interdependence. As someone who has founded activist organizations and is a member of the Boston Democratic Socialist of America, I know that creating or even joining a group comes with its own set of challenges.
Yet people are building community every day. Emily Faber recently put together the first Somerville Connection Expo this month, a club fair for adults that hosted more than 50 organizations and nearly 2,000 community members. Isabel, another Somerville resident, has been putting on a series of in-person dating events called “Touch Grass & Meet IRL” in parks and venues. Somerville for Palestine have been meeting for years, hosting panel discussions, self-defense trainings and potlucks built around a vision of collective liberation and human rights. The skills we need to learn how to build stronger community already exist around us; we just need access and initiative.
I’ve walked the path into East Somerville. The train station there is a 10-minute walk from All She Wrote Books, where I’ll be at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 16 to discuss “Living, Together” with Rosen and the Rev. Jordan Harris of Connexion. I hope you’ll join me. I’m excited to share how the book has inspired me to use my knowledge and platform to find creative ways to build community through practical advice from my neighbors, hosting teach-ins where people can gain skills and by offering space for folks to gather like so many flowers.
The book has reminded me that Somerville itself is a sort of anthology, composed of people of various perspectives and backgrounds, united in our love for this place and a desire to see it be better. We all have a role to play in our communities. Let today be the day you find yours.
