Official list of readers for EATING CULTURES Literary Sriracha

Looking forward to meeting all these good folks! Check out the official list of readers for Saturday's EATING CULTURES: Literary Sriracha - A Spicy Mix of Poetry, Mini-Memoirs, and Flash Fiction!

WINBERG CHAI is the author of more than twenty books on Asia and co-author, most recently, of a family memoir, The Girl from Purple Mountain as well as China A to Z. Born in Shanghai, he immigrated to the United States after World War II in 1950. He is a professor emeritus of political science from the University of Wyoming.

QINGMEI CHEN is a practicing acupuncturist. Born in Guangdong Province, she immigrated with her family to San Francisco when she was seven. She has a BA in Psychology from UC-Santa Cruz and a Master’s in Traditional Chinese Medicine from the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She is currently at work on a novel.

GWYNN GACOSTA has a B.A. in political science from UC-Berkeley and an M.A. in English-Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. She works as a Special Education para educator for the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, as well as a tutor for Sylvan Learning Center's after-school literacy program. She is the mother of two boys. She writes frequently about the Filipino Diaspora.

GEORGE LEW has studied at Amherst College and Peking University. A native of San Francisco’s Chinatown, he has traveled worldwide and speaks five languages. He is currently working on a research project on the all-too-often overlooked Maritime Silk Road. In his spare time, George enjoys used bookstores, horticulture, and rare hand-woven textiles from around the world.

SHIZUE SEIGEL is a third-generation Japanese American who explores history, place and spirituality through visual art, prose and poetry. She was chief cartographer for “Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas” and recently spoke at the National World War II Museum about her book In Good Conscience: Supporting Japanese American during the Internment .

DEBANTI SENGUPTA is a scientist by training. She received a Bachelor’s Degree from Amherst College, and a PhD in Chemistry from Stanford. She has also lived on three different continents, and has been nourished by Indian achaars, African piri piri, Thai nam prik pao, and American hot sauce.

FRANCES KAI-HWA WANG is a second-generation Chinese American from California who now divides her time between Michigan and Hawai'i. She writes for ethnic new media, teaches Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies at University of Michigan, has published three chapbooks of prose poetry, and she will have a multimedia artwork with Jyoti Omi Chowdhury entitled, “Dreams of the Diaspora,” as part of a Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center Indian American Heritage Project online and traveling art exhibition. Check out franceskaihwawang.com.

Photo of Shizue Seigel's My Mother and Betty Crocker, courtesy of Cris Matos.