The Mixed-Race Identity: Writing to See Ourselves-- Live Recording from Seattle Town Hall Now Online

It was a pleasure and gift to take part in this live reading and panel discussion, organized by Donna Miscolta, and alongside Rebecca Delacruz-Gunderson and Sarah McQuate.

Donna, who is mixed Filipina and Mexican, was a part of my spring class at the Hugo House, Shapeshifting: Reading and Writing the Mixed Race Experience. She has mostly written fiction in the past, including her most recent novel, LIVING COLOR: ANGIE RUBIO STORIES (Jaded Ibis Press), exploring a young Mexican girl’s coming-of-age in racist America and her journey to claim her voice. Donna took my course in part to push her to explore some of these same themes in nonfiction, and then put together this panel as a part of her 4Culture grant.

Not only was it wonderful to read and reflect on the special experience that we shared in the 10-week class, but this was also the first time I’ve spoken to the theme of mixed-race identities in public. Sure, I’ve written about this a lot, but I’m still learning to interrogate it within a larger community of voices. I read an excerpt from a yet unpublished essay entitled, “Shapeshifting: Finding the ‘We’ in Mixed Race Experiences,” and Donna, Sarah, and Rebecca read and shared as well.

Sign up for my newsletter if you’d like to know when I offer Shapeshifting again! (I also have plans for a spring 2022 mixed race women’s weekend in-person retreat!)