Events Calendar

A reading from Iowa's inaugural collection of stories written by bicultural Iowans and immigrants, We the Interwoven: An Anthology of Bicultural Iowa tells the stories of three Americans—three Iowans— who have made their home in the heartland over the last two generations.  

Authors Sadagat Aliyeva, Chuy Renteria, and Melissa Palma will read excerpts from their collection followed by a Q&A with Andrea Wilson, series editor and Executive Director of the Iowa Writers' House, on topics ranging from the artistic process of creating the book to the challenges of being a third culture kid in America today.

About the authors:

Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, during the Soviet Era of Stagnation, Sadagat Aliyeva always had a burning desire for freedom. She was drawn to arts, poetry, and spirituality as a child. Her desire of freedom eventually brought her to Iowa. Her fictional folktale-like stories tell of the magic and beauty in human nature. Not only are Aliyeva's stories featured in this collection, but so are her imaginative and beautiful illustrations.

Jesus "Chuy" Renteria is an artist, writer, dancer, and a storyteller. Raised in West Liberty, both sides of his family are from border towns in Mexico that were transplanted to meat packing towns in the Midwest. Chuy tells stories celebrating the spaces between culture, of mangled Spanglish and generational clashes, of the messiness of people finding themselves.

Melissa Palma is the daughter of Filipino immigrants and grew up in a multi-generational household with her grandparents, parents, and little sister, in Waterloo, Iowa. Today she's a graduate of the University of Iowa, dedicating her life to helping others. Her stories tell tales of a life centered in "Ang pamilya," the Tagalong word for family.

We the Interwoven is the first book in an ongoing series, published by the Iowa Writers' House as part of the Bicultural Iowa Writers' Fellowship.