Kimi Eisele

I am a writer and teacher and editor and podcast producer. I moved to Tucson a little over 12 years ago to go to graduate school. I’m originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. I feel most connected to my culture when I am home in Louisiana, because that’s where most of my family is. My mom’s … Read more

When I was very small, like three, the San Diego Symphony had a Sunday afternoon family concert series. And at the end of them they’d always have instrument petting zoos. The musicians would bring out their relatively decrepit, not-very-important instruments, and kids could try them out. Everyone always want to try the trumpet and I … Read more

  “I started out as a handful as a child, dropped out of high school, got my GED when I was 21, you know? Kind of just livin’ life day to day, no real thought for the future. I was going through financial difficulties and went down to my bank for a loan. I had … Read more

I was a chef for a while here in Tucson. It was my first job when I got here when I was 18. We always get the question of what’s your earliest memory of food. When I was three, my mom used to have a friend that cooked at a little restaurant called La Paloma … Read more

I’m very proud to come from Oklahoma. I think lots of people are shocked to hear that. I’m very proud of where I grew up and how I grew up. People think people from Oklahoma are kind of backwards and hokey, but there are a lot of values I got from where I grew up—the … Read more

I grew up in New York City, on the Lower East Side of the village. Sunday was Washington Square. I went to school with Mary Travis of Peter, Paul, and Mary. Josh White and Belafonte used to come—we’d all sit and sing folk songs. I lived a sheltered life—all girls grade school, all girls high … Read more