Some background on Grace Talusan: Not only does she teach at Brown University, she’s also the author of The Body Papers, a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection, published in 2019. It’s a memoir of Talusan’s struggle as a Filipino immigrant to the US. It also weaves in stories of the racism, xenophobia, sexual abuse, and health trauma she and her family faced as documented (then undocumented) residents. She’ll be interviewed by fellow author Monica Macansantos, who’s currently in Vegas for the 2024-25 academic year as a Shearing Fellow. Her forthcoming 2025 book is a collection of essays entitled Returning to My Father’s Kitchen.

You don’t see many literary or even capital “C” Cultural events featuring Filipino artists. But Filipinos make up 53 percent of our Asian-American/Pacific Islander population — there are some 200,000 Filipino-Americans here in Las Vegas alone. This lecture is an easy way to support this growing community.