Panel: Culture, Identity and Writing: Aida Salazar
Aida Salazar is a writer, arts advocate, and homeschooling mother whose writings explore issues of identity and social justice. Her forthcoming debut middle grade novel in verse, THE MOON WITHIN, and her debut picture book, JOVITA WORE PANTS, will be published by Arthur A. Levine Books / Scholastic in Spring 2019 and Fall 2020 respectively. Her story, By the Light of the Moon , was adapted into a ballet production by choreographer, Isabelle Sjahsam, and artist, Roberto Miguel, for the Sonoma Conservatory of Dance and premiered in April 2016. It is the first Xicana-themed ballet in history. The panel was moderated by Arthur Levine, who Lin Oliver called, "a deeply thoughtful person." She continued, "We all admire his list [Arthur A Levine, an imprint of Scholastic Books] for its literary merit and its contents' diversity." The discussion looked at how culture and identity shape and influence our writing What are the talismans of power that you find? Do you fin...