Time can bring insights, and this proves true for U-M professor and author, Aaron P. Dworkin. In his new book, Lessons in Gratitude: A Memoir on Race, the Arts, and Mental Health, published this month by the University of Michigan Press, he reflects on his influences, formative years, career trajectory, and current state in life.

Lessons in Gratitude follows Dworkin’s life from birth through many milestones, including adoption, college, career, marriage, and family. He shares the messages he absorbed as a child and then how he continues applying them into adulthood. During his violin lessons when he tried to explain mistakes, his teacher replied, “You no talk. You play.” This led Dworkin to see that, “These words were probably the most important lesson Mr. Graffman ever taught me. One of my personal tenets is that ‘It’s not what you say, but rather what you do.’” This interaction, among many other encounters with music and in his home life, informed Dworkin’s subsequent approach to work and relationships.

Early in the book, Dworkin chronicles his education as he grew up in New York City and later in Hershey, Pennsylvania, attended Interlochen Arts Academy for two years, and then went to college. Throughout his life, such as when he was studying music and falling in love for the first time, his identity as a biracial and adopted person intertwined with his experiences. Dworkin tells how music has been a unifying force:

My relationship with music has been rocky at times, especially during my teens. Even so, I have never denied its hold on me. Music allowed me to express my emotions I could never articulate how it resonates deep in my soul, the hidden spaces known only to me and what one may refer to as god. Music is the story of mankind with its melodies and beats—the tragedies, the triumphs, the loneliness, and the wonders. It is a part of me that connects me to the rest of the world.

Dworkin’s connection to music has enabled him to leverage this passion in his endeavors. He went on to create a music competition aimed at increasing diversity and inclusion in classical music. He also writes about his continued personal growth while bringing success to the competition that evolved into the Sphinx Organization, as well as expanding his family and advancing in his career.

Through searching for his birth parents, starting a new job, navigating a family crisis, and pursuing what is important to him, Dworkin describes how he stayed true to his beliefs while also learning new lessons. When he was considering the deanship of the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance, he sought advice from colleagues: “Their knowledge of the job and my understanding of my personality helped me avoid mistakes arising from my naturally assertive personality.” Dworkin’s self-awareness has served him well as he made inroads with the faculty and increased the diversity of the school after taking that position.

Despite hurdles and heartaches, Dworkin’s memoir illustrates how he has succeeded during numerous trials by fire. Dworkin narrates his personal and professional experiences and observations candidly and thoroughly. His creativity and adaptability are clear in his stories. In the book, he shares the new endeavors that he has launched over the years, including a new show formed in 2020 called Arts Engines about which he writes, “To build something to last, I had to solve different problems: How can I build a revenue model? How can I build partnerships and sustainable collaborations? How can I build distribution partners and build an audience?” He always looks at least one step ahead of where he is. Along the same vein, he demonstrates how he thinks deeply about his relationships and has similar questions and reflections on them, such as when confronting issues in relationships:

Even in my darkest of interactions with other humans, I know that there is always the potential for light and the truth and genuine love that you can share and give to those who sometimes have caused you the greatest pain.

By reflecting in his memoir, Dworkin shows how he brings his full, authentic self to everything he does, along with gratitude for what he has learned and a large capacity for forgiveness and love.

I interviewed Dworkin about his new book, his engagement with the City of Ann Arbor’s Bicentennial as a poetjournalist, and his upcoming plans ahead of an October 8 book event at Zingerman’s Roadhouse.

Q: What has summer in Ann Arbor been like while anticipating your book’s publication?
A: This has been a busy summer filled with some memorable travel and speaking appearances and performances. Recently, I had the opportunity to share a number of my original newspoems at Festival Napa Valley as well as the Chautauqua Institution. Both were special and meaningful, as I had the chance to share my creative practice and collaborate and commune with some wonderful artists and audience members. I am also grateful to have spent some time with family. I was in New York with my birth family for a reunion and traveling as well as at home with my immediate family as we get ready for some momentous occasions, such as the first year of college for my youngest son. I have also enjoyed speaking about my book with many outlets and cannot wait to learn the reactions of readers!

Q: For those who have not read the book, how did you decide to write a memoir focused on race, the arts, and mental health?
A: In many ways, those have been the core throughlines of my life. The world saw me from a young age in a certain way: Black (despite my biracial background), an artist (violinist, spoken-word artist, an author/poetjournalist), and a multigenre artist more recently. The arts have been my constant, and so much of my life has been informed and defined by, with, and because of the arts. The same is true about my cultural identity. As a Black, White, Jewish, Irish-Catholic, Jehovah’s Witness adoptee, mental health became an important presence throughout my life from a young age to the present day. The latter still comes with a stigma in our society. I felt it would be meaningful to share my journey with others who may have found similar joys and challenges.

Q: From a young age, you have played the violin, and you write about your mixed feelings with practice. Does the act of writing a book have any similarities with practice? Why or why not?
A: My relationship with my violin has always been unique. I cannot think of any other practice that has been similar. I write about my love of playing and having a voice through my instrument. My violin was my solace. I also write about my dislike of the process of practicing. Writing this book was a completely different process, involving memory, active recollection, conversations, editing, and sharing. It’s also unlike almost everything else and all of my other books. Writing my newspoems is similar to violin playing in that I express my thoughts and ideas, but the vehicle, the process, and the avenue are different. And so is the sentiment surrounding the practice: Each is unique and unlike anything else.

Q: Those are helpful insights about playing the violin and writing. Let’s turn back to fully focusing on the book. Lessons in Gratitude illustrates how you have grown to be who you are. Did you consider any other titles? Why did you choose this one?
A: I have considered several other titles at different stages of writing. It was not until the latter part of the process that the idea of gratitude came to me. I felt that despite the varied journey, I am grateful for every road, twist and turn, and every pathway that emerged. I am grateful for people in my life, near and far, who helped shape me. Ultimately, I am grateful to the friends and loved ones I was given and those who chose me. As the lessons go, I continue to learn and hope to do so for the rest of my time here.

Q: How did you go about selecting what events to include or not in this book? Are there passages that you later added or removed?
A: For me, the process was multifold. From the beginning, I had a sense of several critical events to include and what constituted “my story.” However, as this book took years to write, I encountered people, memories, and ideas. All of those elements influenced my process and subsequent decisions to include—and in some cases, exclude—other events and occurrences.

Q: Race and mental health, as the title suggests, figure prominently in the stories you share in this memoir. You write, “That is the truth of racism: When the reality doesn’t align with the stereotype that feeds the prejudice, the only option is pure idiocy.” Chapter after chapter shows your resilience, but the racism remains hurtful and wholly unnecessary. What do you hope that readers glean from this book?
A: My hope is that we all take away lessons in introspection. There are actions we take, assumptions we all make, and spaces we leave in question. Of many human faults, assumption deserves a second thought. There are times we assume based on fear—perhaps of the unknown. It leads us to places that rob us and others of the opportunity to learn, challenge, and connect. My hope is that introspection invites my readers to challenge what they feel they know.

Q: Your reflections are so clear. For instance, you write about deciding to ask your wife to marry you by sharing that “the act of marriage doesn’t change something but rather symbolizes something that already exists.” Some people journal to understand their thoughts, some engage in physical activity to reach insights, and others meditate, among other tactics. What process did you use to develop your reflections for your memoir?
A: I think deeply about big and small decisions. I have a vivid imagination, which is something I believe I carry from my childhood: The lack of toys, technology, TV, etc., helped me develop my thinking this way. I think this imagination allows me to visualize what I am doing in the moment, but also to remember things more vividly.

Q: Lessons in Gratitude also contains some of your poems, and you are a poetjournalist. Tell us about your poetry, including how it interacts with the book, your founding of the Institute for Poetjournalism this year, and your role as the Poetjournalist-in-Residence of the City of Ann Arbor’s Bicentennial.
A: For most of my life, I have written poetry. The most recent act of defining and originating poetjournalism is an evolution of my creative practice. The poems I chose to accompany my memoir are intended to help tell my story and offer a flavor to the various times and events in my life that carry significance. At times, I feel poetry does so in a way that prose cannot. My present practice, including my role with the City of Ann Arbor’s Bicentennial, takes poetry into a different realm, where its emotive force and the informative power of journalism converge, creating a more empathetic, informed, and connected society. I have treasured this experience of chronicling the history of Ann Arbor through the use of this form and connecting with people who love this city and those who are still yearning to find their place in it.

Q: What is on your desk to read?
A: Quantum Supremacy by Michio Kaku and Age of Revolutions by Fareed Zakaria. I am fascinated by both authors and have been enjoying the process tremendously.

Q: Where are you going next?
A: I look forward to creative collaborations with Complexions Contemporary Ballet as its Poetjournalist-in-Residence, as well as several residencies across the country where I will deliver more original newspoems and connect with new audiences.

Martha Stuit is a former reporter and current librarian.

Aaron P. Dworkin will discuss his new book, "Lessons in Gratitude: A Memoir on Race, the Arts, and Mental Health," at Zingerman's Roadhouse, 2501 Jackson Ave. in Ann Arbor, on October 8 at 6:30 pm.