This interview with a writer of chronicle, travel, memory, history, and society fills us with energy through her remarkable effort to capture the world, offer new perspectives, and ask essential questions. During our visit to North Carolina, we had the opportunity to speak with her in person at East Carolina University, in a bilingual dialogue that reflects the lived experience of a Mexican American—or American Mexican—girl. A recipient of numerous awards, she is the author of books such as All the Agents and Saints (University of North Carolina Press, 2017), 100 Places Every Woman Should Go (Travelers’ Tales, 2007), and Art Above Everything: One Woman’s Global Exploration of the Joys and Torments of a Creative Life (Beacon Press, 2025).
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