Former ABA President Joins Peace Corps

Next month, Russ Lawrence and Jean Matthews, soon-to-be former owners of Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton, Montana, are leaving the States and starting a two-year Peace Corps assignment in Peru.

Russ Lawrence and Jean Matthews at Machu Picchu, Peru in 1990.

"The word is out, so I might as well spring the news on the world at large -- my wife, Jean Matthews, and I are selling our interest in Chapter One Book Store to our partner, Shawn Wathen, on or about June 1," said Lawrence, a former ABA president. "On June 3, we will leave for Peru for 27 months with the Peace Corps as Small Business Development volunteers." 

After about three months of job, language, and cultural sensitivity training outside Lima, they'll head to their work site. Where in Peru that will be or what they'll be doing, they don't know, Lawrence said. "The Peace Corps application process is designed to screen for people who are comfortable with uncertainty," he noted. "After 23 years in the independent bookselling business, we feel that we nailed that one."

While Lawrence didn't yet have the details of his assignment, he did have an idea of the type of work and attitude that would be required. "The development philosophy of the Peace Corps is not to do things for our hosts, but to help them learn to do for themselves," he explained. "We may be teaching business skills to members of artisan co-ops, or helping a group of farmers with marketing their products, or even working in tourism development. In each, our real-world small business experience will be more useful than any classroom learning could be."

Lawrence and Matthews were accepted to join the Peace Corps in 1979. At that time Lawrence decided to take another job, but it's something they've always kept in mind. "One of the dominant themes of my life is the concept of 'service,'" said Lawrence. "Face it -- I'm a Boy Scout, always have been. That impulse to help is how I ended up on the ABA Board (and as President) and so involved in our community. Further, both my parents lived abroad before I was born, and both Jean and I want the experience of living in another culture for a long enough period to truly get a sense of it."

Peru was chosen because they're both fascinated by South America. They've also been looking to lighten their carbon footprint on the planet, and in Peru, they believe it will decrease significantly.

As far as returning to bookselling, Lawrence said he and Matthews "will remain evangelists of the written word and the joys of reading, and may be involved in literacy as part of our assignments, at least on a secondary level." He can't give a more concrete answer than that. "We don't really know who we'll be after 27 months of service in Peru, so we're not making any firm plans for our return."

Lawrence and Matthews have started a blog http://jeanrusspcperu.blogspot.com about their adventure, although Lawrence said he doesn't know how often he'll be able to update it since they "may not have Internet access -- or running water, or electricity, or phone service."

Everyone at Chapter One is preparing the store to operate without them. That prep involves "lists," said Lawrence. "Lots, and lots of lists." He also noted that Wathen has been with Chapter One for 12 years, and a partner for six. "He's pretty well cross-trained in everything, but he can't be doing it all, so it's a great opportunity for some of our other staff to step up a level and take on new responsibilities, and they're ready. It's really fun to see the growth and excitement as they redefine what the store is all about."

Their excitement, however, didn't lessen their disappointment at not being able to visit with fellow booksellers at this year's BookExpo America. "Obviously, our preparations preclude us from attending BEA, and we regret that we will miss out on our last opportunity to see all our friends in the indie bookselling universe for a while."

Joining the Peace Corps is "truly the culmination of a lifelong desire for both Jean and myself," he said, "while we're still young and healthy enough to enjoy it, and young enough when we return to be able to use what we learn in a new setting." --Karen Schechner

Wonder what Lawrence will be reading while in Peru? Here is his "partial" reading list:

"Lonely Planet's Peru guide, of course (thanks to Bob Harrison, our LP rep). 501 Spanish Verbs, too. Peru is classified by the PC as a 'cold-weather destination,' so our baggage allowance is 100 pounds each, instead of the typical 80. We're thinking--'Great, that's 20 pounds more books; if we get cold we can buy sweaters when we get there!' 

"We're beefing up our Andean literature background. I just read The Andean Express, by a Bolivian author, Juan de Recocoechea, just published by Akashic, and we just got the ARC of the historical novel, City of Silver, by Annamaria Alfieri (St. Martin's), due out in August. We've long been fans of Mario Vargas Llosa, (who was running for president of Peru when we visited in 1990), and Marie Arana. Several people have mentioned Jose Maria Arguedes as a native Peruvian author we should read.

"We've even been using a bi-lingual edition of Pablo Neruda poetry to sharpen up our Spanish. 

"In general, though, we're just high-grading the ARC pile at home, looking for a variety of books we'll both want to read. Fortunately, we both enjoy a broad range of fiction and nonfiction, but it's still going to get tough when we get to the final sort. 

"And I want to give a shout out to my Penguin Trade Paperback rep, Tammy Brant, who got me a manuscript of Doing Business in Latin America: A Pocket Guide to the Culture, Customs & Etiquette, by Dr. Kevin Michael Diran, Prentice Hall Press, due in September, I believe. I'll be packing that -- great timing!"