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| Luis Alberto Urrea |
Tonight, April 7, at 7 pm, 49 Writers welcomes author Luis Alberto Urrea to the Willa Marston Theater at Loussac Library in Anchorage for a Crosscurrents discussion. It is my honor to have been chosen to engage
Luis in a discussion about “Crossing Borders.”
Luis in a discussion about “Crossing Borders.”
Before anyone passes any judgment on a border or immigration discussion,
first think about the borders in your own life, the places you’ve been, the
places you intend to go…are there any borders, defined, or imaginary, that must
be crossed? These borders include the
social (I don’t mean switching from Twitter to Tumblr), cultural, geographical,
social economical, the mythical and magical.
This evening with Luis Alberto Urrea will be about the movement between all
these multiple points, how we get there and how we engrave our own heart in
place.
first think about the borders in your own life, the places you’ve been, the
places you intend to go…are there any borders, defined, or imaginary, that must
be crossed? These borders include the
social (I don’t mean switching from Twitter to Tumblr), cultural, geographical,
social economical, the mythical and magical.
This evening with Luis Alberto Urrea will be about the movement between all
these multiple points, how we get there and how we engrave our own heart in
place.
Luis Alberto Urrea is an award-wining author. His works include The Devil’s Highway, Six Kinds of Sky, The Hummingbird’s Daughter, Into
the Beautiful North, and The Queen of America, among other nonfiction and
poetry titles. You will find that each
of his works is full of an immeasurable heart and humor, and a sense of
humanity that most of us forget day to day. His prose is driven by precision imagery and deft storytelling. With
any luck, we will all learn a thing or hundred about craft, and process. His accomplishment is steeped in hard work as
a writer, a dedication that is admirable and truly the take away for any
aspiring author looking to define their own commitment.
the Beautiful North, and The Queen of America, among other nonfiction and
poetry titles. You will find that each
of his works is full of an immeasurable heart and humor, and a sense of
humanity that most of us forget day to day. His prose is driven by precision imagery and deft storytelling. With
any luck, we will all learn a thing or hundred about craft, and process. His accomplishment is steeped in hard work as
a writer, a dedication that is admirable and truly the take away for any
aspiring author looking to define their own commitment.
My intentions are to just stay out of his way tonight, for the most part. What I want
the audience to bring is a sense of where they come from and how they arrived
at this great place, Alaska. If you are
born and raised here, chances are the rest of the those limbs on the family
tree are not, so search them out and find the place of departure that
eventually pointed North.
the audience to bring is a sense of where they come from and how they arrived
at this great place, Alaska. If you are
born and raised here, chances are the rest of the those limbs on the family
tree are not, so search them out and find the place of departure that
eventually pointed North.
Anchorage
specifically is a bounty of ethnicity—Mexican, Samoan, Chinese, Hmong, Russian,
African, and the list goes on. ALL of
these peoples have story in them, their own perspective on crossing over. It is time to
come together and see the value that is sharing story, the value in voice, and
necessity of each. Luis Alberto Urrea’s
writing represents more than the physical line of delineation between the US
and Mexico—it represents how we get to the better side in each of us. I hope you will join 49 Writers for this
unique and truly experience.
specifically is a bounty of ethnicity—Mexican, Samoan, Chinese, Hmong, Russian,
African, and the list goes on. ALL of
these peoples have story in them, their own perspective on crossing over. It is time to
come together and see the value that is sharing story, the value in voice, and
necessity of each. Luis Alberto Urrea’s
writing represents more than the physical line of delineation between the US
and Mexico—it represents how we get to the better side in each of us. I hope you will join 49 Writers for this
unique and truly experience.
I will even throw in my experience in the Border Patrol, and
how I gave up that career to instead write here in Alaska.
how I gave up that career to instead write here in Alaska.
Hello. I'm one of the writers down in Homer who took the two day workshop from Luis and also went to both of his talks. He is a fantastic storyteller and I encourage everyone to take advantage of him being in our neck of the woods. Enjoy him and what he has to share. His stories about the border crossings are not easy to hear, but his ability to engage his audience is quite astounding. Before he came to Homer I had never heard of him and now, I look forward to reading several of his books.