Working in the Native community in Oakland, I found that the stories of the people I knew were not represented anywhere. In fact, the Native fiction I read made me feel less Native, or more alone, because it was about reservation life. I came to find there was very little in literature about Oakland, and almost nothing about Native people living in cities. I started working at the Health Center at the same time that I was falling in love with literature, with fiction, working at a used bookstore on the other side of town. I was born and raised in Oakland, then worked o ff and on for eight years in the mental health department at the Native American Health Center in Oakland. Was there a particular event or idea that was the genesis for "There There"? Interview courtesy of Penguin Random House. Bestselling and award-winning author Tommy Orange will be in conversation with Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology Kelly Fayard on Thursday, May 13 for the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences' virtual Harper Distinguished Speaker Series lecture.
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