Description

Panelists: Juan Felipe Herrera, Colum McCann, Wayne Grady, Juan Felipe Herrera
Moderator: Merilyn Simonds

One of the most pressing issues of our day is human migration — mass movements triggered by famine, war, terror, environmental disaster, and personal need. Our anniversary Conference brings together a unique roster of authors representing a continent of cultures and a world of imaginations, which we are thrilled to present together on our 2020 cross-cultural panel.

The son of migrant farm workers, poet Juan Felipe Herrera mines the landscape of California for the stories of migrants and Jabberwalkers, those who write and speak for themselves and others, no matter where their feet take them. Irish-American writer Colum McCann founded Story Exchange, which uses storytelling among youth to help break down barriers between cultures. Colum McCann has experienced the power of storytelling to help solve the challenges facing migrants.

Join these inspiring contemporary writers as they talk about the vitality and necessity of migrant stories — and the challenges of capturing the complexities of anguish, loss, and hope on the page. Moderated by Merilyn Simonds, author of Refuge.