About this event

Kenneth Tan discusses his memoir and art book Crescenciana with guest Jonathan Lewis!

About Crescenciana:

Seated side-by-side at their kitchen table in San Jose, California, ninety-four year old Crescenciana Tan and her grandson, Kenneth Tan, got to work. Crescenciana made watercolor paintings and Kenneth drew her memories on top of them. When Crescenciana passed, she left behind all of her paintings, and Kenneth decided he would finish everything she started. He promised.

In Crescenciana, Kenneth weaves together their artwork, conversations, and memoirs to tell his grandmother’s life story. With heart and humor, he recounts Crescenciana’s childhood antics in the Philippines, her fall on black ice outside of a church in Canada, and her show-stopping civics test performance that earned her citizenship in the United States. At the same time, he revisits her memories as a survivor of World War II and the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, and he reflects on his own continuing grief since her passing.

Crescenciana is an art book and memoir about carrying and commemorating your family’s stories. It’s a book about moving forward without leaving your loved ones behind.

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Kenneth Tan is a second-generation Filipino American living in his hometown of San Jose. He has shared stories about his grandmother, Crescenciana Tan, on NPR and StoryCorps, and he is a recipient of the Leigh Weimers Emerging Artists Award. He enjoys drawing, puns, and three-item lists Crescenciana is his first book.

Find Kenneth on Instagram @lolaxkenneth. Connect with Kenneth and follow the book Crescenciana on Goodreads.

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Accessibility note: This event is up two flights of stairs and Lost City Books does not have an elevator. This event will be simultaneously live streamed on our YouTube page!