Words to Stir the Soul

Immigration

On the heels of one of the longest presidential campaigns in history, one that has turned up the heat on the topic of immigration, the Center shifted the focus back from positions to people. This special evening celebrated the literature of immigration, rather than the policies of immigration. A large crowd listened as community members, politicians, public servants, professors, and a host of others read selections from a literature that has played a crucial role in the formation of the narrative of the West.

This year’s readers included:

Thomas Andrews
Professor in the Department of History at the University of Colorado Denver
Reading from Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War by Thomas Andrews

Steve Burkholder
Executive Director of Colorado’s Future and former Mayor of Lakewood
Reading from The Devil’s Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea

Bruce Finley
Denver Post reporter

Yan Linhart
Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado at Boulder
Reading from Hidden Heritage: The Legacy of the Crypto-Jews by Janet Liebman Jacobs

Daryl Maeda
Professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder
Reading from No-No Boy by John Okada

Jose Mercado
Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre, Film & Video Production at the University of Colorado Denver

Manuel Ramos
Author of Chicano Literature and Director of Advocacy for Colorado Legal Services
Reading from Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation by John Phillip Santos

John-Michael Rivera
Professor in the Department of English at the University of Colorado at Boulder
Reading from The People of Paper by Salvador Plascencia

Helen Thorpe
Freelance writer
Reading from Beyond the Border compiled and directed by Jose Mercado; Excerpt: “Thank You” by Richard Rodriguez

Mary Ann Villarreal
Professor in the Department of History at the University of Colorado at Boulder
Reading from Crossing by Manuel Luis Martinez

William Wei
Professor in the Department of History at the University of Colorado at Boulder
Reading from America is in the Heart: A Personal History by Carlos Bulosan