Convening between and across worlds, with Daniel Tam-Claiborne

Imagination State

Daniel Tam-Claiborne is a writer, producer, and nonprofit leader whose work bridges cultures and builds belonging. His debut novel Transplants (Simon & Schuster, 2025), a finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, follows two young women navigating borders, responsibility, and the search for home. A former Fulbright Scholar and NEA Fellow, Daniel is now Deputy Director of The Serica Initiative, where he works to illuminate Asian American stories.

In this episode, we talk about what it means to see the world from the periphery, with Daniel sharing how that outsider vantage point can sharpen observation skills and deepen empathy. We explore the responsibilities that come with connecting - and writing - across cultures and genders, the rise of anti-Asian hate, the tension between nuance and didacticism in socially engaged fiction, and the ways characters and story can guide an author through unexpected imagination landscapes.

Imagination invitation from Daniel:

Daniel invites us to experiment with a digital Sabbath: turning off devices from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. For him, this weekly practice interrupts the cycle of external validation and opens space for more embodied presence.

Mentioned:

• Daniel Tam-Claiborne’s novel Transplants
• The Serica Initiative
• Lunar Collective
• Wind phones

Ideas? Visions? Imaginaries? Email [email protected].

This episode was edited by Angela Ohlfest, typographer from Simon Walker, music from Cosmo Sheldrake.