About this Event
In recognition of the 250th anniversary of the United States, The Seattle Public Library's Fall 2026 Guest Curator Daniel Tam-Claiborne invites Seattle audiences to reflect on the many diasporas that shape our collective story—past, present, and still unfolding. Across three evenings aligned with significant cultural moments, writers, artists, scholars, and community leaders come together to explore the friction and fertility between heritage and assimilation: what is preserved, what is transformed, and what new forms of richness emerge when cultures meet.
Each program spotlights a distinct community—East African, Southeast Asian, and Nordic—while opening space for broader conversations about allyship, solidarity, and shared futures. Through literature, journalism, film, music, and interdisciplinary dialogue, the series celebrates contributions that are often underrecognized yet deeply woven into the civic fabric of the Pacific Northwest.
Hosted in partnership with local cultural organizations and community anchors, these gatherings are both celebratory and reflective: an invitation to listen closely, honor lived experience, and consider how stories of migration, memory, and belonging continue to redefine what America is—and who it is for.
Tonight's panel features Marko Liias, Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum, and Andrew Nestingen.
There will be mingling from 6:00pm-6:30pm and the panel will begin at 6:30pm.
About the Curator:
Daniel Tam-Claiborne is a multiracial author, multimedia producer, and nonprofit director. His debut novel, “Transplants,” was a finalist for the 2023 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. A 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow, he has also received fellowships and residencies from the U.S. Fulbright Program, Poets & Writers, Bread Loaf, Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Swatch Art Peace Hotel, and others. Daniel holds degrees from Oberlin College, Yale University, and the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.
About the Panelists:
Marko Liias is a lifelong Washingtonian, state senator, and adjunct college professor based in Edmonds. The son of Finnish immigrant parents, Marko is deeply committed to the cultural, educational, and civic life of the Pacific Northwest. He serves as a board trustee at Seattle Rep, an active partner with the National Nordic Museum, and is currently collaborating with UW Professor Andy Nestingen on a research project exploring connections between the Pacific Northwest and Finland. Marko was recently decorated with the Order of the Lion of Finland in recognition of his work cultivating Finnish-American ties. Honored to join The Seattle Public Library’s Fall 2026 Guest Curator series, he brings a distinct perspective on how Nordic values, enduring cultural heritage, public policy, and interdisciplinary dialogue shape our shared community story—examining what is preserved, what is transformed, and how migration enriches our region.
Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum is the author of the novel "Elita" and the story collection "Outer Stars," which won the 2025 Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction. Her three previous collections of short fiction are "What Do We Do with the Wreckage," which won the 2017 Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction; "Swimming with Strangers;" and "This Life She's Chosen." Kirsten’s short fiction has been honored with a PEN/O. Henry Prize, and her stories have appeared widely in journals, among them The Sun, Prairie Schooner, Ploughshares, One Story, and McSweeney’s. She has held fellowships from MacDowell, Sewanee, the Jack Straw Writers Program, and the Willa Cather Foundation. Kirsten is the fiction editor for the literary journal Crab Creek Review and a member of the faculty at Eastside Preparatory School and Whitworth University’s Low Residency MFA.
Andrew Nestingen is professor of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Washington. He teaches courses on Nordic literature and film, especially Finnish. He is co-editor of the Blackwell Companion to Tove Jansson, with Jussi Ojajärvi, Kasimir Sandbacka, Ralf Kauranen, and Kukku Melkas. He is also co-editor of "Nordic Noir, Adaptation, Appropriation" with Linda Badley and Jaakko Seppälä. He is author of "The Cinema of Aki Kaurismäki: Contrarian Stories." He co-edited "Scandinavian Crime Fiction," co- with Paula Arvas. Other books include "Crime and Fantasy in Scandinavia: Fiction, Film, and Social Change" and "Transnational Cinema in a Global North: Nordic Cinema in Transition," co-edited with Trevor Elkington. He has served as editor of the UW Press book series "New Directions in Scandinavian Studies " since 2017. He is working on two books. The first is "Nordic by Northwest," with Marko Liias. It is a general-interest book on the US-Finnish, Finland-Washington State relationship. The second book is "The Nordic Turn: Traveling Toward Pluralism." This book examines life writing by Nordic and American authors who compare the Nordic countries and the United States, offering a nuanced critique of the Nordic Model.
This program is supported by Seattle's Office of Arts & Culture, The Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation, The Seattle Public Library Foundation, and The Seattle Times. Free and reduced access supported by 4Culture.
Event venue & nearby stays
Ballard Branch - The Seattle Public Library, 5614 22nd Avenue Northwest, Seattle, United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.