In this episode, I'll be talking with Ashley, an Iranian American storyteller who will be sharing her experiences learning languages and traveling and how these global interactions have shaped what she hopes to convey through her writing. We'll also be delving into the importance of diverse representation in literature and sharing marginalized voices through the power of storytelling. 

Ashley Hajimirsadeghi is an Iranian-American writer and artist. She is the author of the chapbooks cartography of trauma (dancing girl press) and cinephile (Ghost City Press). She is an M.A. Candidate in Global Humanities at Towson University and graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a BS in International Trade & Marketing, an AAS in Fashion Business Management, and minors in Film and Media, English, Asian Studies, and American Studies. She is co-Editor-in-Chief at Mud Season Review and a poetry reader at EX/POST Magazine. A five-time Best of the Net and two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, Ashley has received scholarships, awards, and fellowships from Brooklyn Poets, the US State Department, the State University of New York (SUNY), COUNTERCLOCK, the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, and the University of Arizona, among others. Find her work at MovieWeb, New Perspectives Theatre Company, and various other print and online outlets.