Author Arshay Cooper discussed his life and award-winning memoir A Most Beautiful Thing: The True Story of America’s First All-Black High School Rowing Team Wednesday night at the inaugural RoundTable Reads event at Nichols Concert Hall in downtown Evanston. He also revealed to a nearly sold-out audience of several hundred rapt listeners about his plans for a second book.
Cooper answered questions from Michael Alter, owner of the Chicago Sky WNBA basketball team, who founded the nonprofit City Year Chicago. They met years ago when Cooper worked at City Year Chicago for two years after graduating Manley High School on Chicago’s West Side.
Alter’s first question had to do with how Cooper first encountered rowing.
“I remember walking into the [school] lunch room, and I saw a boat,” Cooper said. “I’d never seen a boat in my life.”
Behind the boat was TV footage of Olympic rowing. A crew representative asked Cooper if he’d like to join a team. Discouraged by the lack of Black representation that he saw on the TV clip, Cooper turned down the invitation.
The next day, classmates told him that joining the team meant he’d get free pizza. “I love pizza!” Cooper said to a roar of audience laughter.
Calming the storms
In rowing, Cooper found much more than free pizza. He spoke of his trials attempting basketball and football, and feeling that neither sport was right for him.
“Rowing was the first sport for me that reduced the trauma and calmed the storms,” Cooper said.
Cooper described how his crew team faced challenges besides just competition, such as relating to his teammates, some of whom were from neighboring gangs. Ultimately, he said, what mattered most was the need to look out for one another in an unfamiliar environment.
How he came to write memoir
Years later, Cooper said he was asked to speak to a group of students in a poor section of New York City. He asked them to describe their dreams.
Most had lofty goals, like landing on an NBA or NFL pro sports team. But one boy said he just hoped to afford eating at Chipotle. The students laughed at the boy, but Cooper said afterwards he gave the boy’s counselor $20 and asked him to make sure the boy got his Chipotle. It wasn’t just about a meal, however.
“If you can eliminate small dreams, there’s room for bigger dreams,” Cooper said, adding he experienced this himself with rowing. As a teen growing up on the rough West Side, he used to dream of just going into Downtown Chicago. When that dream was reached, his dreams expanded, he said.
The view from the balcony of Nichols Concert Hall. Credit: Richard CahanCooper moved from one dream to the next by moving to New York City, working as a chef and writing his memoir. This too, did not come without its trials.
Cooper related how eight editors rejected the manuscript, saying it wasn’t compelling enough since the team never succeeded in winning a major tournament.
“What they don’t understand is the way my community measures success,” Cooper said. Rowing taught him to swim and gave him a connection to young men in other neighborhoods.
“I am successful,” he pronounced to loud applause.
Post-publishing success
Cooper shared with the audience a multitude of successes since A Most Beautiful Thing was published by Flatiron Books in 2020.
His memoir was adapted for a 2020 documentary film, narrated by the Academy Award- and Grammy-winning artist (and fellow Chicagoan) Common, produced by former NBA players Grant Hill and Dwyane Wade and directed by Olympic rower and filmmaker Mary Mazzio.
Today Cooper leads a nonprofit foundation, A Most Beautiful Thing Inclusion Fund, which provides assistance to help under-resourced rowing organizations. The author urged support for Evanston-area rowing programs such as the ETHS rowing team and North Channel Community Rowing, striving to diversify the sport. Representatives of those groups attended the RoundTable Reads event.
Cooper also revealed plans to write a second book, which he said would be published by HarperCollins and overseen by Judith Curr, president and publisher of its HarperOne Group.
“It’s emotional for me,” Cooper said. “This book deal is huge.”
The evening closed with book signings by Cooper.
Wow! As a committed reader of the Roundtable, I have no idea how I missed learning about this wonderful event!!! I saw the documentary film about Cooper’s experience with rowing a couple years ago and was tremendously moved by it.
It’s wonderful to learn how successful he has become and that he has a second book deal happening. Very inspiring, indeed!
What an interesting and inspiring article. I wish I had known about him. I guess I will have to read his book. Thank you Margo, your article was great.
What an exhilarating evening with Arshay Cooper. Thank you.
Truly exciting and inspirational. Wish I had a recording! Thank you.