Grace Talusan shares her immigrant story that began with a green station wagon
Boston-area resident Grace Talusan is in the spotlight this June as Stories from the Stage — the WORLD Channel series that features ordinary people telling extraordinary stories — airs a national 24-hour binge-a-thon of episodes this month.
Talusan was born in the Philippines and raised in New England. A graduate of Tufts University and the MFA Program in Writing at UC Irvine, she is the recipient of a U.S. Fulbright Fellowship to the Philippines and an Artist Fellowship Award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Talusan teaches the Essay Incubator at GrubStreet and at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts. She is the Fannie Hurst Writer-in-Residence at Brandeis University for 2019–2021. “The Body Papers,” winner of the Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing, is her first book, which the New York Times called “Indelible.” She will be share her immigration story of the green station wagon that helped her family become Americans in episode 107, airing on Sunday, June 23 at 12:30 a.m.
She began her story about how her family was in the U.S. but thinking that they would all be coming back to the Philippines. Until her father passed the medical board, opened his private practice, and opened a “whole new world” for the family.
The public television series features masterful storytellers from every walk of life, highlighting both our differences and our shared sense of humanity. The Stories from the Stagemarathon, which begins on Saturday, June 22, at 7 p.m. and runs through Sunday, June 23, at 7 p.m., will also include the premiere of the all-new episode, Rocky Top Remembersat 10 p.m. Eastern (9 p.m. Central) on the first night of the television event.
In addition to the broadcast marathon, viewers can also catch a 24-hour livestream of the binge event on WORLD Channel and Stories from the Stage Facebook pages. On both sites, users can connect with series hosts, humorists and storytellers Theresa Okokon and Wes Hazard, as they comment live during primetime episodes.
With more than 40 episodes, the Stories from the Stagebinge-a-thon will give viewers a chance to catch up on the series dedicated to bringing real stories — whether humorous or poignant, commonplace or astonishing — to American homes. Each 30-minute episode spotlights a trio of raconteurs — some experienced, some novices — sharing short anecdotes related to the episode’s unifying theme. Love, loss, family, food, immigration and celebrations are among the topics explored in episodes including “Lost & Found,” “Welcome to the Neighborhood,” “It’s All Relative” and “Holidays: The Good, The Bad.” Although each story is unique, audiences everywhere will be able to connect and relate with storytellers from a mosaic of backgrounds, ages, cultures and abilities.
Stories from the Stageis a collaboration of WORLD Channel, WGBH Events and Massmouth. Showcasing the communal art form of storytelling, the series reflects WORLD Channel’s commitment to bringing fresh and compelling voices to public media audiences on all platforms, while reflecting the diversity of modern America and the global community.
“Personal stories rich in human experience and emotion can create understanding, empathy and appreciation for people very different from us,” said Liz Cheng, general manager for WORLD Channel and co-executive producer of the series. “With Stories from the Stage we hope to prove how much we all have in common and inspire community dialogue about our differences.”
(C) The FilAm 2019
