ALI SA moderator and Class XII: Isilimela Fellow, Sharmi Surianarain recently invited us to reflect on moderation as an act of love in a world overflowing with opinions and crowded conversations.
Drawing on her lifelong relationship with books and language, Sharmi explores what it means to “hold space” in difficult dialogues—particularly those around race and justice. She reminds us that reading people with care can be as demanding and as deeply rewarding as reading great texts.
As part of her journey, Sharmi has been training as a moderator for the ALI SA Fellowship and has already co‑moderated three ALI SA seminars. She brings to this role not only her deep love of texts and reading, but also her warm and gentle spirit—qualities that shine through in her moderating style.
Her reflections encourage us to approach conversations not only with intellect, but with compassion—recognising that listening attentively and moderating thoughtfully are themselves powerful acts of love.
To read more about this, click here to access Sharmi’s full article: Reading people, reading text
