International journalist speaks at Lenox Library

LENOX – Patrons of the town library were recently treated to an exclusive presentation from a journalist with deep Lenox roots.

James Brooke, who is the bureau chief for the Voice of America in Russia, spoke at the Lenox Library on May 30.

Mr. Brooke grew up in Lenox and is a longtime foreign correspondent, having worked in such places as South America, Japan and West Africa.

He recently did a story on Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the suspected lead Boston Marathon bomber, and the Russian republic of Dagestan, where Mr. Tsarnaev spent six months in the year before the bombing.

During the presentation, Mr. Brooke spoke both about Mr. Tsarnaev and what he was doing in Dagestan, as well as the history of the republic and its current socio-political climate. He also talked about the Chechens, an ethnic group Mr. Tsarnaev is a member of, and their history, including their long struggle for independence from Russia.

After his presentation, Mr. Brooke took numerous questions from the audience.

Mr. Brooke’s family first moved to Lenox in 1905, and he learned to read in the Lenox Library.

“I grew up on Main Street,” said Mr. Brooke in comments to The Beacon. “My family’s been associated with Lenox and The Berkshires for over a century.”

Mr. Brooke’s sister currently lives in Tyringham, while his niece will be moving to Lenox this summer.

He said he has been returning to Lenox at least once a year for almost half a century. He’s also given a number of lectures at the Lenox Library, including one last year.

“I think in 1982, I gave my first talk at the library,” said Mr. Brooke, who was the Miami Herald South America correspondent at the time and added it’s a good way to talk to friends. “Talking in public is a good way to collect your thoughts.”

“I kind of liked Dagestan…the people are very friendly,” said Mr. Brooke, when asked if anything surprised him about doing his last story. “You’ve gotta just keep your heart and mind open, you never know what you’re going to discover.”

“It’s fun, it’s gratifying, you have to be totally devoted to it,” said Mr. Brooke, when asked what he would say to a high school student interested in his career. “You just have to do it.”

Posted by Bera B. Dunau on June 6, 2013. Filed under Community Events,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry