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Saturday, October 19 • 2:30pm - 3:30pm
A Country of Immigrants

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For those who succeed in passing through the golden door of the promised land, the dream and the reality of America often clash. Abdi Nor Iftin, author of Call Me American, grew up during the civil war in Somalia. The story of his life and his determination to reach the United States is epic, his joy at succeeding unbounded—until the election of Donald Trump. Poet Richard Blanco, born in Spain of Cuban refugee parents, came to America as a child. His recent travels across the country to discover our shared identity provided material for his latest volume of poems, How to Love a Country. Both authors give voice to the complexity and contradictions of a place whose motto is e pluribus unum. Our discussion will be moderated by Simón Ríos, first-generation American and reporter for WBUR. Sponsored by G. Barrie Landry.
Moderators
avatar for Simón Ríos

Simón Ríos

Simón Rios is an award-winning, bilingual newsroom reporter at WBUR. Prior to WBUR, Rios spent two years working at the Standard-Times in New Bedford, where he covered business and immigration. A graduate of Emerson College, Rios worked as a carpenter, a cab driver, and a musician... Read More →

Presenters
avatar for Abdi Nor Iftin

Abdi Nor Iftin

Abdi Nor Iftin is a memorist and former correspondent for NPR. He is the author of Call Me American, a memoir detailing his childhood in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, until he was granted a visa to live in the United States. In 2015, Iftin was the subject of This American Life... Read More →
avatar for Richard Blanco

Richard Blanco

Richard Blanco is a poet, professor, public speaker, memoirist, and civil engineer. He was the first immigrant, the first Latino, the first openly gay person, and the youngest person to be a US inaugural poet when he read at President Obama’s 2013 inauguration. He is also the first... Read More →

Saturday October 19, 2019 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT
Trinity Forum 206 Clarendon St, Boston, MA, 02116
  Memoir   Poetry

Attendees (144)