Episode 211: Worlds and Words of Chicago – Immigrant Stories

This week, writers from around the world discuss their journeys, finding community in creativity, and making a home in Chicago. Featuring multidisciplinary writers Nestor Gomez, Lani T. Montreal, and Ugochi Nwaogwugwu; moderated by Jane Hseu. Presented by the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. This conversation originally took place May 19, 2024 and was recorded live at the American Writers Festival. We hope you enjoy entering the Mind of a Writer. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HOME About the writers: NESTOR "THE BOSS" GOMEZ traveled from Guatemala to Chicago with his family in the mid 80s. He was 15 years old, stuttered, didn’t know the English language and was undocumented. He didn’t have a voice. Today, he is an American citizen, speaks English with a sexy latinx accent and has become a storyteller. He has won the Moth slam more than 80 times. He is also the creator of 80 Minutes Around the World, a storytelling show that features the stories of immigrants, refugees, their descendants and allies. LANI T. MONTREAL writes to create her home in the diaspora. She is a queer feminist Filipina writer/educator/performer/activist based in Chicago. Her poems and essays have been anthologized in journals and books, and her plays, produced in the Philippines, Canada, and the U.S. She is CIRCA Pintig’s resident playwright and a Chicago Dramatist Network Playwright. She is a two-time recipient of 3Arts Residency Awards, a 2017 VONA Writers of Color Workshop alumni, a 2017 Free Street Theatre Resident Artist, and a 2024 Links Hall Co-MISSION Fellow. She teaches writing at Malcolm X College. UGOCHI NWAOGWUGWU is a multidisciplinary creative. Her poems have been published in Storm Between Two Fingers & Too Young, Too Loud, Too Different, both international anthologies released in the UK. Golden Shovel Anthology, honoring Gwendolyn Brooks, The Eternal Year of African People, and Wherever I’m At released nationwide. Not My President published by Third World Press in 2017. Her first book of poetry & prose entitled Seasons of Separation, in 2023. Ugochi also created an original pan African poetry form called, “Ike,” (pronounced EE-kay) #Ikepoem, paying homage to her Igbo heritage of Nigeria and fostering black appreciation worldwide. JANE HSEU is Professor of English at Dominican University. She specializes in teaching/researching Asian American and Latinx literatures and writing creative nonfiction. In addition to academic essays, she has published personal essays on funky Chinese American names, growing up in her mother’s Shiseido cosmetics store, and mental health, literature, and community. Jane enjoys being in creative community, especially being an organizer for Banyan: Asian American Writers Collective and telling stories in Ada Cheng’s storytelling productions. She is currently working on a memoir about how her journey with mental health necessitates coming to terms with a family history of mental illness.