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As Congress moves forward with immigration reform, we take a look at how this issue connects to culture, business and families in the Northwest.Our region is home to a unique blend of immigrants who work in all parts of our economy — from high-tech to agriculture. This population already has a deeply-rooted history here. And its ranks are expanding rapidly.Proposals for comprehensive immigration reform address border security, employment verification, guest-worker programs and pathway to citizenship for an estimated 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the US.

Poet Colleen McElroy On "Crossing Oceans"

Portrait of Colleen McElroy
Ingrid Pape-Sheldon

One of the most persistent stories about America — that it was made by immigrants fleeing "the old country" — is also one of the most incomplete. And since stories shape our perception of reality, poet Colleen McElroy is intent on telling another aspect of America's story in "Crossing Oceans."  The poem appears in her most recent collection "Here I Throw Down My Heart" (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2012).

McElroy is the author of nine poetry collections and is professor emeritus of English and creative writing at the University of Washington. She has been awarded NEA, Fulbright, Rockefeller and DuPont fellowships, and her work has been translated into Russian, Italian, Arabic, Greek, French, German, Malay and Serbo-Croatian.

She was recorded in the KUOW studios on Feb. 1, 2013.