In this episode, Dan Wu introduces us to Teja Sudhakar, a poet and University of Kentucky graduate, originally from Chennai, India. Teja talks about her chapbook, "Looking for Smoke," and reads a poem called "The Interviewer Stands." She describes her lifelong love of writing, and how she made the decision to embrace it as a vocation.

-----Before you go: Every immigrant family has to decide what their relationship will be with their first language. Some parents insist their kids speak it, some turn away from it entirely, and some land somewhere in between. We’re talking about it later this season, and we want to hear from YOU. Do you speak your family’s first language? How does language shape the way your family connects? Visit whereyallreallyfrom.org and click “talk back” to let us know. We may feature your answer in our future episode.