Liz Prato in Conversation with Jacqueline Keeler

We welcome Liz Prato, author of Volcanoes, Palm Trees, and Privilege: Essays on Hawaiʻi, in conversation with Jacqueline Keeler at 7 pm on Thursday, September 12th.

Volcanoes, Palm Trees, and Privilege, published by Overcup Press, explores what it means to be a white tourist in a seeming paradise that has been formed – and largely destroyed – by white outsiders. Hawaiian history, pop culture, and contemporary affairs are woven with personal narrative in fifteen essays that examine how the touristic ideal of Hawai’i came to be. In the book, Prato examines her multi-layered relationship with Hawai’i and her soul connection with this group of islands. Author Lidia Yuknavitch describes the book as “a love letter to the land and people of Hawai’i.”

Prato will read from her book (accompanied by an all-new-to-Portland AV presentation), and then talk with Keeler about colonialism and Native lands.

Liz Prato is the author of the short story collection Baby’s on Fire (Press 53). Her work has appeared in more than two dozen literary journals, including The Rumpus, Baltimore Review, and Salon. She is editor-at-large for Forest Avenue Press and teaches in Portland and at literary festivals across the country.

Jacqueline Keeler is a Diné/Ihanktonwan Dakota writer who founded Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry. She is the editor of The Edge of Morning: Native Voices Speak for the Bears Ears, has contributed to many publications including The Nation and Yes! Magazine and has been interviewed on MSNBC and Democracy Now! Her newest book, Standing Rock to the Bundy Standoff: Occupation, Native Sovereignty, and the Fight for Sacred Landscapes, is forthcoming in 2020.