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Becoming American : personal essays by first generation immigrant women

Format: Print Book 2000
Availability: Available at 1 Library 1 of 1 copy

Noncirculating (1)
Location Collection Call #
CLP - Main Library Pennsylvania Dept. - Reference Stack Area r E184.A1 B288 2000
Location  CLP - Main Library
 
Collection  Pennsylvania Dept. - Reference Stack Area
 
Call Number  r E184.A1 B288 2000
 
 

Summary
This collection of original essays, the first of its sort, written by first generation women immigrants, offers a glimpse into the process of assimilation. Edited and with an introduction by a noted young Ghanaian-American author, this book includes selections by widely acclaimed authors such as Lucy Grealy, and Judith Ortiz-Cofer, alongside the works of other writers.
Published Reviews
Booklist Review: "In each wave of immigration, the memories of others who have come from somewhere else, who have negotiated questions of identity and belonging, who have lived "in the hyphen," are a vital lifeline. Ghanaian-American writer and activist Danquah brings together nearly two dozen essays about the first-generation experiences of immigrant women from Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Some authors may be more familiar than others to readers, e.g., Lucy Grealy from Ireland, Lynn Freed of South Africa, Judith Ortiz Cofer of Puerto Rico, and Edwidge Danticat from Haiti, but all are eloquent in finding words to describe their journeys from their homelands to the United States, which is both home and not home for a first-generation immigrant. Both natives and the authors' fellow immigrants will find much to ponder and admire in this involving collection. --Mary Carroll"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "For many of the immigrant writers in this revealing anthology, the fusion of "old country" customs, habits and lifestyles with those of the "new country" is fueled by pride and shame, determination and denial. Yet for others, the transition is made with relative ease. As a whole, this compelling collection illustrates that the speed of acclimation depends upon factors ranging from the writer's presuppositions to the time and location of her arrival in America. In an untitled essay, Lillianet Brintraup relates the uncomfortable experience of arriving from Chile to join a Ph.D. program at the University of Michigan, where the hectic pace and long work hours made her long for home. In "Secret Latina at Large," Veronica Chambers reflects on her first trip, at age 27, to her native Panama where she reveled in that country's similarities to her home in Brooklyn, as well as in its differences. Edwidge Danticat's "AHA!: Reflections On" is a sad reminder of America's prejudicial attitudes toward African-Haitian-Americans. Editor Danquah (Willow Weep for Me: A Black Woman's Journey Through Depression) has gathered writers from Japan, China, Burundi, Ireland and a host of other countries who testify to the influence of American television, the politics involved in choosing a language and the effects of climate, fast food and dress on the assimilation process. Providing insights into the variety of immigrant experiences, they dispel the belief that "in order to move toward something, one must move away from something else." (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved"
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Additional Information
Subjects Women immigrants -- United States -- Biography.
Acculturation -- United States.
United States -- Emigration and immigration.
Publisher New York :Hyperion,2000
Edition 1st ed.
Contributors Danquah, Meri Nana-Ama.
Language English
Description xviii, 236 pages ; 22 cm
ISBN 078686589X (hc)
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