On the Same Page author Elaine Castillo will discuss her novel America is Not the Heart, named one of the best books of 2018 by NPR, Lit Hub, The Boston Globe, SF Chronicle, The New York Post, Kirkus Reviews and The New York Public Library. Castillo will be joined by Ismail Muhammad, Oakland based writer and critic.
Elaine Castillo’s America is Not the Heart presents a portrait of the Filipino diaspora through three generations of women as they reconcile the home they left behind with the life they're building in America. Set in Milpitas and the Bay Area, Castillo weaves an emotional and descriptive story with protagonist Hero de Vera and her arrival from the political violence in the Philippines under Marcos regime and the rebel forces she sided with.
Told through the lens of a single family, Castillo brings the reader in, her words depicting the complexities of the everyday, family, love and self. Illuminating the intricacies of past and present and reconciling life in America, Castillo incorporates languages such as Tagalog and Ilocano and uses flashbacks to tell Hero’s story prior to leaving the Philippines.
America is Not the Heart was shortlisted for the 2019 SFPL One City One Book. We encourage you all to join us in this city-wide read.
Elaine Castillo was born in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.
Ismail Muhammad is a writer and critic based in Oakland, California. He's the criticism editor for The Believer, a contributing editor at ZYZZYVA and a contributing writer at The Nation. He also got his Ph.D. in English from U.C. Berkeley. His work, which focuses on literature, art, identity and black popular and visual culture, has appeared in publications like the New York Times, Slate, New Republic, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Real Life and Catapult. He's currently working on a novel about the Great Migration and queer archives of black history.
Connect
Elaine Castillo - Website | Instagram
Ismail Muhammad - Website | Twitter
Related Event: On the Same Page Book Club: Elaine Castillo’s America is Not the Heart – Dec. 21, 6 p.m.
LOCATION:Virtual Library CLASS:PUBLIC TRANSP:TRANSPARENT END:VEVENT BEGIN:VALARM TRIGGER:-PT1440M ACTION:DISPLAY DESCRIPTION:Event Reminder - Author: Elaine Castillo in conversation with Ismail Muhammad END:VALARM END:VCALENDAR