Retired HVCC instructor Labate publishes 6th novel
“Streets of Golfito” draws inspiration from author’s experience with Peace Corps
Jim Labate became a Peace Corps volunteer immediately after graduating from Siena College in the early 1970s, wanting to travel and experience a new culture. “It was a life-changing experience,” he said. “I knew I wanted to be a teacher, but I didn’t want to go from one classroom as a student to another classroom as a teacher.”
That experience inspired him to write his latest book, and sixth overall, “Streets of Golfito." The story follows Lilli, a 17-year-old Costa Rican, who wants to learn English and escape her small town, and Diego, a 22-year-old Peace Corps volunteer from upstate New York, who has been assigned to introduce sports to the young people of the village. The story is told in alternating chapters and beautifully captures the eccentric and heartwarming characters from this banana port near the Panamanian border.
“When I was 22 I wanted to change the world, but what I realized was that the Capital District, my entire world at that time, was only a small part of the bigger picture. I realized the people of Costa Rica didn’t know anything about Siena basketball or the New York Mets, and they didn’t suffer for that lack of knowledge. They also didn’t have television in the little town of Golfito, where I was living, and somehow the people survived,” Labate said.
As a Peace Corps volunteer he tasted new foods, listened to new music and learned a new language. It opened his mind to new ideas and experiences. “I came home with a deeper appreciation for my family, my freedom and my country. I met so many Costa Rican people who told me their life goal was to visit or live in the United States. I was living the American dream, and until that time I didn’t even realize it.”
Labate used the setting of the story and a few of the experiences, but it’s mostly all fiction. “I started the book a long time ago in the late 1970s, and I thought it was going to be an autobiographical love story about the girl I left behind and when I began writing that it was just plain boring.”
He let the story sit for many years and when Labate came back to it he had a tentative idea of the plot, but he was not sure how it would finish. “I let the characters surprise me along the way, and it was fun to watch the story unfold.”
In 2018 he and his wife went back to Golfito and saw friends who still live there. “I got to walk the streets once again. It’s changed quite a bit because the banana company where many of the villagers worked is no longer there. The
town is still very remote, but it’s getting more built-up, and part of the national university is there now. It was great to share this experience and many of my memories with my wife.”
After his two years in the Peace Corps, LaBate returned and taught high-school English for 10 years. “That volunteer experience added a layer of passion to all my lessons and lectures through the years. I enjoyed telling my students about the wide world outside our borders and the opportunities that might await them if they took advantage of their education and opened their minds to all the world has to offer.”
For the next 11 years Labate took a writing job at Newkirk Products in Albany. “I did mostly technical writing there to banks and trust companies. It was extremely helpful to me as a writer because I had people reviewing my work every day, usually three editors proofreading it, checking on its accuracy and making suggestions. Working there showed me I could write, and it gave me confidence.”
When Labate went to college there were no basic writing classes like there are today. “I mainly learned how to write on the job. I attended a couple of summer Capital District Writing Project seminars that taught me how to teach writing, and that helped me get my next job at Hudson Valley Community College.”
He enjoyed his time at Newkirk Products, but missed teaching so much so, when an opportunity to become an adjunct at Hudson
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Valley Community College opened up, he took it. That eventually led to a full-time position in the college's writing center. “That’s what I did for the last 20 years. I loved working one-on-one with students to help them with their writing. When students share their essays it’s like they are inviting you into their home to meet their families.”
Writing has always been one of LaBate's great passions. “I often think of that quote by the author Joan Didion who said, ‘I write to find out what I’m thinking.’ I’m just like that. I’m one of those people with a million thoughts banging around in my head. Writing helps me organize my thoughts. It also helps me understand all the different experiences that are happening to me.”
After all these years working with young people, he still has great faith in their ability to be good readers and good writers. “I don’t think young people are doing as much traditional reading as I did when I was their age, but they read a lot online and they write text messages to interact with each other.," Labate aid. "It’s a different type of reading and a different type of writing, but it’s still happening and that’s important.”