For this month’s theme of Death, we’ve asked Jeni De La O to share a few things to get us ready for Friday’s talk.

CM/Detroit: Don’t give it all away just yet but can you tell us in three words what you’ll be talking about on the 17th?
Jeni De La O: Reassessing, Understanding, CreatingWhy Detroit? What keeps you inspired here?
Where else? What other city has literally shaped the contours of our nation like Detroit? This city redefined the very limits of commercial potential and personal reach. This city created the soundtrack to social change and resistance that fueled–and continues to fuel–the drive for social equity and representation, and did it with a beat! Detroit has one of the richest storytelling communities in the nation and is home to the most innovative, inspiring, rooted people you’ll ever meet. What is your favorite project you’ve ever worked on? What would your dream project be?
Performing on the Moth MainStage was an unforgettable experience. The crowd in Salt Lake was so warm and welcoming and each of the storytellers on stage that night blew me out of the water. My dream project would be expanding Relato:Detroit to other cities (Relato:Chicago, Relato:Miami, Relato:LA, etc); expanding the platform for immigrant and bilingual storytellers. I’d love to work with storytellers from First Nation and Native communities to both highlight their experiences and showcase their languages.

What do you do when you feel stuck, creatively?
I have a long commute. When I’m creatively stuck, I imagine being interviewed by Terry Gross and explaining to her how I got out of my creative rut. I play both parts, imitating Terry’s unflappably smooth voice and picking apart the block. People stuck in traffic next to me probably think I’m crazy–but the solution usually forms itself. When I’m writing or putting together a story and I’m unsure of which way to go at some point, my rule of thumb is “if I can’t explain it to Terry Gross, it’s probably not the best way forward.” If you were not working on your current endeavors, what might you be doing instead?
Baking pies and roasting veggies.What’s your favorite animated gif?