Scholar, writer Cherríe Moraga to discuss 'Writing our Way Home: A Queer Chicana Legacy'

Purdue's Latino Cultural Center, LGBTQ Center and student group Purdue Immigrant Allies, in collaboration with campus partners, will host Cherríe Moraga, award-winning Chicana feminist poet, essayist, and playwright, on Sept. 12.

"Writing our Way Home: A Queer Chicana Legacy with Cherríe Moraga" will held at 7 p.m. in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse. The event is free and open to the public.

Through queer and women of color portraiture, Moraga shapes an abiding narrative as a call to action in the 21st century. During her reading, Moraga will consider questions of political consciousness and human compassion as she reads from several of her texts, including "This Bridge Called My Back" and "A Xicana Codex of Changing Consciousness." Moraga's books will be available for sale and signing after the lecture.

Moraga is best known for her role as a co-editor of "This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color," which was recently republished as a new edition by SUNY Press in 2015. Moraga is the recipient of the United States Artist Rockefeller Fellowship for Literature, the American Studies Association Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Lambda Foundation’s “Pioneer” award, among many other honors. Moraga also has made a great impact on the Latin community through her work as an activist, as a founding member of La Red Xicana Indigena, an advocacy network made up of Chicanas who are active in the fields of education, the arts, spiritual practice, and indigenous women’s rights.

“Cherrie Moraga’s writings are absolutely foundational to the canon of Latinx literary and cultural studies," says Alfred J. López, professor and director of Latin American and Latino studies at Purdue. "My first encounter with "Loving in the War Years" and "This Bridge Called My Back" as a student was a transformational experience for me, as it has continued to be for her many readers and followers ever since. Her visit to Purdue is cause for celebration -- an event not to be missed!”

This event is co-sponsored by the Latino Cultural Center, Purdue University LGBTQ Center, School of Interdisciplinary Studies, Latin American and Latino Studies program, College of Liberal Arts Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives, Civic Engagement and Leadership Development, Susan Bulkeley Butler Center for Leadership Excellence, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Department of Philosophy, American Studies program, Creative Writing Program, Department of Philosophy, Black Cultural Center, the Latinx Graduate Student Organization, and Latinx Student Union, with funding also from the Student Organization Grant Allocation.

More event information is available on Facebook and the Latino Cultural Center website or by contacting Purdue Immigrant Allies at loscompa@purdue.edu or latinocc@purdue.edu.