Hello, Stranger: Thresholds of the Unfamiliar

Before the stranger and the unfamiliar, where an epiphany might be in the offing, we rush to erect a barrier -sometimes a literal wall. Or we are regretfully prone to turn what might be a splendid possibility into a transaction, a quid pro quo.

Many are the thresholds that draw a line between us and the Other. It can be the threshold of time, of age difference, of gender and sexuality, cultural or linguistic thresholds, the thresholds of religion, race, social class, disabilities. This book approaches some of those thresholds, in a rather kaleidoscopic manner, with much earnestness, but sometimes also with humor.

Take a careful look at the art on the cover; it is a photo of the Annunciation (ca. 1445) painted by Petrus Christus, a Netherlandish artist. Now, ask yourself: "What if Mary had not allowed the winged stranger to cross the threshold?"

A native of Puerto Rico, Pedro Sandín-Fremaint is a retired professor of French at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, and of Spanish at University of North Carolina, Asheville. He did his graduate studies in French (M.A., Georgetown University, 1974) and in Theology and Literature (Ph.D., Emory University, 1987). He has been writing rather intensely since his final retirement in 2015. Pedro lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire with his wife of 55 years, Annie, and their two dogs, Sally and Molly. Some of his non-academic publications are:

Cuentos y encuentros (Pandora Press, 2001)

Palabras duras (homilies) (Pandora Press, 2001)

Huellas de papel (novel), self-published via Lulu Press (2015)

The Holy Gospel of Uncertainty (homilies) (Lulu, 2017)

Caleidoscopio de una familia puertorriqueña, (Lulu, 2021)

And Yet. . . A Faith Journey (Wipf and Stock: 2021)

Praise for Hello, Stranger

"A brilliant light through which to apprehend and interpret our perplexing world. Pedro Sandín-Fremaint's words sparkle with delight, wonder, awe and the exquisite sensibility of a gifted poet."

-Dr. Franz Feige, author of The Varieties of Protestantism in Nazi Germany: Five Theopolitical Positions.

"Pedro Sandín-Fremaint lives and writes in a place of overlap and interaction between languages and cultures, making him a superb guide in an irreducibly multilingual, multicultural world. Through simple, evocative literary forms (iconic vignettes, brief essays, short poems), he helps us do the essential, empathetic work of being human: rendering the familiar strange, and the strange, familiar. In this age of division, more important work can scarcely be imagined."

-Rev. Dr. Matthew Myer Boulton, author of Life in God: John Calvin, Practical Formation, and the Future of Protestant Theology (Eerdmans, 2011) and God Against Religion: Rethinking Christian Theology through Worship (Eerdmans, 2008).