Lumpia (eggroll) contains hidden ingredients inside a wrapper that come together to form a tasty bite. What is inside a lumpia reveals a lot about the cook. The way we make lumpia is unique to where we come from and who cooks it. Who are we under our lumpia wrapper?
Letting yourself process experiences and memories can be emotional, but it can also be cathartic in learning who you are. Two local Filipinx American authors, Bren Bataclan (Fe) and Grace Talusan (The Body Papers) write about their experiences growing up in Filipinx families in their memoirs and how they learned to process their stories.
Join us for an interactive virtual writing and drawing workshop (not a cooking class) about the power of sharing stories about who we are, where we come from, and what we care about. Bren and Grace will have an insightful discussion about the benefits and pitfalls of writing and publishing stories from their lives and then lead creative exercises in either drawing or writing in breakout rooms.
No experience required. Please bring an open mind, a few sheets of paper, and a writing utensil (for drawing purposes, we recommend a marker).
Register below. Please refresh this page if you do not see the form after a minute.
About the Books
When people ask Bren Bataclan to describe the tumultuous life with his mom Fe, they often ask, “How did you turn out so nice?” Bataclan’s memoir, Fe, illustrates many volatile, often hilarious experiences with a tantrum-prone, narcissistic, hoarder mom. Yet Fe is fundamentally a loving and gay-supportive, though often challenging, Filipina mother. Bataclan shares a journey tracing his family’s immigration from the Philippines to the United States. You will remember his bittersweet story forever, as he moves from coping to thriving, with frustration, trauma, compassion, and eventual acceptance.
Buy Bren Bataclan’s debut graphic novel, Fe, from the Harvard Book Store or the book’s website.
Grace Talusan’s critically acclaimed memoir The Body Papers, a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection, powerfully explores the fraught contours of her own life as a Filipino immigrant and survivor of cancer and childhood abuse.
Buy Grace Talusan’s book, The Body Papers, from the Harvard Book Store.
About the Artists
Bren Bataclan is a Boston-based artist. He was born in the Philippines and grew up in Daly City, California. In the early 2000s, Bren began giving away paintings in public spaces with a note saying, "This painting is yours if you promise to smile at random people more often." Since then, he has given away close to 3,000 paintings in over 70 different countries and in all 50 U.S states. His "pay-it-forward" and kindness-themed work has led to presentations and mural projects at local schools. Bren has now painted over 200 murals for schools, hospitals, and businesses.
Grace Talusan is the author of the memoir, The Body Papers, a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection and the winner in nonfiction for the Massachusetts Book Awards. Currently, Talusan is the Fannie Hurst Writer-in-Residence at Brandeis University.
Contact: Ashley Yung | 617-635-5129