Katherine Vaz will discuss her novel ABOVE THE SALT, a labor of love over fifteen years in the making, a fictional account drawing upon the true story of the Madeiran refugees who were adopted by Illinois in the era of the Civil War.

The lecture will focus on the descendants of Portuguese on the East Coast of Sri Lanka, called “Portuguese Burghers” in Sri Lanka, who have lived in mixed communities near forts at Batticaloa and Trincomalee since the early 1600s. We will hear field recordings of performances of music and folk verse in creole Portuguese with illustrations of the community.