In "The Making of A Writer: From the Poets in the Kitchen," Paule Marshall delves into the immigrant narrative through her experiences with "unknown bards." Through an extend family created in the New World, this child learned the beauty and vitality that exists in language. The immigrant women in the kitchen seem to be in the in the middle of discovering the wonders and horrors of the country. F. D. R. and Marcus Garvey are heroes and symbols of the American Dream. This is punctuated by the fact that they named their sons after Roosevelt hoping that "they would live up to the names." They want their children to be able to assimilate into the dominant culture and realize the dream of owning a home. The "poets" also nostalgically reminisce about the beauty of the old country. And while they recognize that anyone can "make a dollar," they are also "overwhelmed" by this country, which falls in-line with the shock stage of the narrative. However, at the same time the minority narrative weaves itself into this work. Marshall notes that these were not just immigrants, they were "black" and "female." Even though they are dealing with discrimination that is common for first generation immigrants, there is still a history of involuntary participation in America that is forced upon them. This is perhaps the most noticeable when, at the end of the work, Marshall seems to find her "voice" through relating to minority literature. In a way, Marshall represents a new ethnic identity; she represents a successful immigrant that "was permitted . . . to dream," but also must find a connection with "[her] people." [SK 2001]

Prose selection one is by Paule Marshall and it is entitled "The Making of A Writer: From the Poets In The Kitchen." In this piece, there are many themes that we discussed in class. First of all, this text is a generational narrative, meaning that the parental generation has a much different experience than the generation of the children. This is evident when the women in the kitchen reminisce "at length about home." In the story, Marshall goes on to say that they discussed their "adopted home." This shows their resistance to assimilation. Ultimately, their desire in America was to "see their children through." This statement is somewhat of a summary of the immigrant experience. [MG 2001]

Paule Marshall, "The Making of a Writer: From the Poets in the

Kitchen" (VA 82-89)

This passage speaks of the many immigration experiences that Paule Marshall experienced as a child. The first she mentions is from the kitchen to the neighborhood library. She leaves the safety of her home turf to venture out into the world of the dominant culture in the library. The second she mentions is her move from the spoken word of her "people" to the written word of the dominant culture. This emphasizes the importance of language both for the immigrant and the minority group. We have spent time talking about the need to keep the native tongue as well as the need to learn English in this country. I think also the Paule Marshall speaks to the importance of education and that that is a way to advance in this country. You must have the education to move away from the bottom of the ladder. And yet education in this country has long had an assimilationist mission, until recent years promoting the dominant culture over the culture of the immigrant, and urging the rejection of native culture and language. When she speaks of not being able to define what is missing, that is because she has never been shown anything other than Austen and Grey. These are the people that inhabit her classrooms and her books, yet, still in her soul, she is aware that something is missing. Can't you just see her expression on coming across the photo of Paul Laurence Dunbar? Someone that looked like she did, someone that could be her relative.

What strikes me to the core in this passage is her telling us that while she searched for more writings of her people, she did not abandon the others. She is able to get the best of both and use them to form her life. [PK-A 2001]

Prose selection number one is taken from "The Making of a Writer: From Poets in the Kitchen," by Paule Marshall. In this selection Marshall tells us that she learned how to be a better writer by listening to her mother and their friends talk in the kitchen. Paule is a second generation immigrant who has become completely immersed in the English language (cultural objective 2). She reads all of the American classics, "everything from Jane Austin to Zane Grey." These books do not relate to the culture she came from but to the culture she moved to. She also seems to jump into the category of getting in touch with her roots, or where she came from, when she discovers black literature. This relates to literary objective 1C as she rediscovers her ethnic identity. [anonymous violet 2001]

[complete answer from in-class exam]

Paulie Marshall, " The Making of a Writer: From The Poets in the Kitchen "

From cultural objectives 2 and 2d the effects of assimilation on personal, familial, cultural, and historical identities of African Americans is confronted in the passage by Marshall, " But although I loved everything I read...I sensed a lack after a time. Something I couldn’t quite define was missing. And then one day, browsing in the poetry section, I came across a book by someone called Paul Laurence Dunbar, and opening it I found the photograph of a wistful, sad-eyed poet who to my surprise was black..."

Could it be that she was reading all of these books by white authors and could not identify with them or with what they were saying? Their history is much different than hers. She is the child of immigrants from Barbados and they were primarily English, American and cut from that WASP mold. Her experience in finding Paul Laurence Dunbar, and reading his works must have opened up another world to her, perhaps parts of her own world and her own identity.

In literary objective 1 " The story of immigration as a fundamental narrative of American literature and culture," can be found in this passage and it adequately describes the feelings, I think, of immigrants and minorities; relating their narrative as part of the whole narrative of the dominant culture. The immigrant/minority story is but a thread in the tapestry that is the individual/American story, and this she found in the library reading white authors as well as black authors. This was a revelation to her, and this aspect also relates to literary objective1b. " To criticize as well as celebrate the immigrant or American dream narrative." She says, " And I began to search then for books and stories and poems about " the race( as it was put back then ), about my people, while not abandoning Thackeray, Fielding, Dickens and the others..." She is actively and purposively criticizing as well as celebrating her narrative; she is weaving her American experience, which is both immigrant and minority by gathering information and delving into the worlds and experiences of African Americans and their white counterparts. [AC 2001]

[excerpt from email exam]

But as the little girl recalls, "they reminisced often and at length about home" (85). This topic is how the "community of the Barbados past" stayed connected to their homeland Barbados. This is where they criticized the USA for low paying wages and celebrated the opportunity to save that low pay. Then, they would make their "American Dream" a reality and buy a house and give their children a better chance for economical growth. Even though they were shocked with the complexities of America, endured personal sufferings, and obviously very unimportant to their "New World", they did not give up hope for that better life. Their dream came true with this child, as she enters into a public library to take advantage of an equal opportunity offered to all Americans. This little girl enters into this place, not knowing the riddling void within her will soon be filled. [JL 2001]

[from an in-class exam]

The opening words of this passage - "By the time I was eight or nine, I graduated from the corner of the kitchen to the neighborhood library," - describes a migration. It is an intellectual migration. Paule migrated into a territory that was unfamiliar to anyone else in her family - especially her parents. Cultural Objective 1b talks about cultural variations in the immigrant narrative such as socioeconomic immigration. Paule's migration from the spoken word to the written word is more of an intellectual journey than anything else, and it is something that we can't imagine her Barbados-born parents doing. Literary objective 2c discusses the differences in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation immigrant characters. Paule definitely fits the description of the "divided" 2nd generation immigrant, because she is still interested in her own African roots, (hence,the black writers). [JMcC 2001]