Tuesday, 7 March: Caribbean Immigrants: Minorities or Immigrants? June Jordan, “Report from the Bahamas” [handout]; Edwidge Danticat, “Children of the Sea” (IA 98-112); Paule Marshall, “The Making of a Writer: From the Poets in the Kitchen” [handout]; Paule Marshall, “To Da-Duh, in Memoriam” (IA 368-377)

·        Fiction-nonfiction dialogue: Daniel Garcia

Fiction: “To Da-Duh . . . “; Nonfiction: “The Making of a Writer”

Fiction – Nonfiction Dialogue

Fiction:  To Da-Duh, In Memoriam       Nonfiction: The Making of a Writer

Titles were first thing that jumped out at me.

Making of a Writer

Pg 82   “Some years ago, when I was teaching a graduate seminar in fiction at Columbia University…”

Pg 84   “Once inside the warm safety of its walls…I personally identify with this because it is what we did when we were little.”

In general, nonfiction type of progression of her influences.

            Starts with anecdote to introduce her topic, then goes back to childhood and recounts random happenings and conversations from her house.  Finds classic literature, but quickly realizes something is missing.

Pg 88   “It reminded me of the way my mother…”

                        Realized here that her mother and her friends were poets.

Concludes by returning to present time with another anecdote.

Driven by conversation.  Women discuss adversity, politics, WWII, home in Barbados, new home in America, “New York children,” different sayings they had.

To Da-Duh

            Pg 368  Opening paragraph is setting a scene.

            Repetition

                        First two paragraphs

                        “I know you don’t have anything this nice where you come from.”

                                    Three times on Pg 372

                        “Beating up white people.”

                                    Three times on Pg. 374

            Unlike "Making of a Writer," "To Da-Duh" tells a story of one event.  Up until last few paragraphs, entire setting is the family’s trip to Barbados, a couple of weeks long (Pg. 374).

Questions:        Other than first person, what similarities did you find?

                        Do you identify more with the fiction or non fiction piece?