"In my years of experience as a writer and as a college professor, I
have never seen anything like this: the love for language, the passion
for discussion, clarity of mind, and humility of heart. Stephen Haff
invents impossible projects and makes them possible."
--Valeria Luiselli, author of Lost Children Archive
*The unlikely, inspiring true story of a one-room school where children
of undocumented immigrants and their teacher discover their voices and
speak truth to power.
Still Waters in a Storm is an after-school program held in a small room
in Bushwick, Brooklyn; it is a place for kids to practice reading and
writing in English, Spanish, and Latin. For the students, many living in
constant fear of deportation, Still Waters is a refuge. For Stephen
Haff, a former public-school teacher, it is the sanctuary he built
following a breakdown caused by bipolar depression. At Still Waters, all
agreed that there would only be one rule: "Everyone listens to
everyone." And this has unlocked spectacular potential.
Since 2016, the students have been collectively translating Don
Quixote into English, taking the Spanish tale--a story about a dreamer
who never gives up--and adapting it into a bilingual musical. Six-year
old Sarah tells of her mother's journey across the desert from Mexico
riding on the back of a tiger. Alex, a very private teenager, sings her
coming out song to standing ovations. As the kids perform their work
across NYC, they learn that they belong in this country--their voices
amplifying to deliver a message of diversity, love, hope, and resilience
essential to us all.
