Heather Latter
Frank Maraj has completed the third book in his memoir trilogy, entitled “Snapshots 3: Unveiling the Classroom of Life.”
While his first book, released in 2008, offered a reflection on his youth in Trinidad, and his second in 2011 chronicled his university years, this third work encapsulates more than three decades of Maraj’s time spent as a teacher here in Rainy River District.
“Frank Maraj is the reluctant immigrant who returns to Canada as a qualified teacher after he was summarily denied and rejected by his native Trinidad,” a summary of the novel offers.
It adds while the narrative takes place in Canada, there are flashbacks to his Trinidadian life.
“In ‘Snapshots 3,’ we see Frank Maraj, the professional teacher, from the first days of his teaching career to the last days,” notes the blurb on the back of the novel.
“His anecdotes highlight the joys and trials of teaching, with reflective insights that challenge the philosophical underpinnings of the educational system.”
Maraj said he penned the third book for two reasons.
“First, I wished to share this journey with my children and grandchildren,” he explained.
“Then there were some who simply encouraged—and even demanded—that I complete this segment of my life since I had already published two former editions, ‘Snapshots’ and ‘Snapshots II.’
“Such interest is truly inspiring,” Maraj added.
“From the very onset, the inspiration came from the very students whom I’ve taught and the staff whom I have been a part of at Fort Frances High School,” he noted.
“It is in that milieu that I derived a sense of encouragement,” he stressed, conceding it takes courage to unveil himself to his former students.
But having had such an overwhelming response to his first two books, Maraj spent the past two years recording the last 30 years of his life as he searched for identity.
“There’s still a part of Trinidad that is always in the background, and I think this book has brought me full circle,” he remarked, noting the trilogy traces his roots from the beginning right through to his current state.
“And I think now, more than ever, I’m in a good place.”
Maraj said the book attempts to capture life as it happened.
“I may have taken certain liberties, and at times I might have unwittingly dramatized certain incidents to make the story interesting,” he admitted.
“But I don’t think the spirit of the story is compromised.
“And although the stories are not necessarily in chronological order, I have attempted to give some logical order to the time of occurrences,” Maraj added.
“In some instances, fictitious names have been used,” he noted, saying his former students might wonder who he really was referring to in the story.
“That’s taking the lens of the teacher and pulling yourself out, and looking back into the classroom into the events that surround the students,” he explained.
“And it’s a collection of stories that have revealed so much of what I have come to understand and learn about young people.
“This teacher became a student along the pathway,” he said.
Maraj feels the importance of his newest book derives from the conclusion of “Snapshots II.”
For those who haven’t read it, the last part of that book shows Maraj in a period of his life where he was at the end of his wits; completely diminished.
He had returned to Trinidad, after being trained in Canada, but was rejected.
“I was so excited to be a part of the educational system and then the bomb exploded, and then I came to all places, quiet Devlin,” Maraj recalled.
“And my journey began anew.”
To get the most out of his story, Maraj suggests people might want to read “Snapshots II” before beginning the third instalment.
He indicated the book shares some of the challenges and struggles he faced in Rainy River District, and how he overcame them.
“The difficult moments that I faced on this side of life here, certainly there are moments that are awkward and uncomfortable in the telling of the stories,” Maraj remarked.
“I hope I have done it in a way that people can understand,” he added.
“I hope I will not have offended anyone because that certainly isn’t my intention, but the pen of integrity hopefully is on my side.”
Maraj said the book demonstrates his growth as a teacher and an individual.
“Anyone who has known me in the last decade-and-a-half has known a happy, happy fulfilled teacher,” he remarked.
“Those years in the beginning, I had no inkling that what awaited me was the peace and contentment.
“To be home in a good place like Fort Frances and the entire Rainy River District, to be part of that milieu, to be so happy in a place of acceptance in my life, what more could I ask for?”
So while district residents surely will want to read Maraj’s third book, he said those whom he knows in Trinidad also are excited to get their hands on a copy.
“About three years ago, I was invited to a reunion in Trinidad,” he noted. “The students whom I taught in the 1960s invited me to come and visit.
“And they have no idea what my life was like in the last 35 years, and they are curious and wondering what has become of me.”
He added that in some ways, he feels this book has brought him to a point where he now feels completed.
“Having to leave Trinidad in the circumstances I did and coming to Canada,” he said. “What does it mean to be Canadian? Especially for one who never ever conceived being in Canada?
“The book answers that.”
When Maraj began writing, he set out to chronicle his life in a memoir—and he’s done that.
“It has been a wonderful journey,” he enthused. “I have come to love writing. That is a discovery.
“I find it engaging,” he added. “I hope I never stop dreaming and it is in dreaming that I write.”
When asked if he will publish any more books, Maraj replied he “will let the journey unfold.”
Maraj will be launching the book this Friday (Dec. 5) from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Fort Frances High School library, and then again Saturday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Fort Frances Public Library (with a reading at 3 p.m.)
People are encouraged to stop by and pick up a signed copy for $25.
The books then will be in Pharmasave, Betty’s, Northwoods Gallery & Gifts here next week, as well as at Cloverleaf in Emo.
Maraj’s books also can be purchased online at www.trafford.com
