美国国家公共电台 NPR Gloria Naylor, 'The Women Of Brewster Place' Author, Dies At 66

Gloria Naylor, 'The Women Of Brewster Place' Author, Dies At 66 

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We're going to take a couple of minutes to remember writer Gloria Naylor, who died last week. She's best known for her award-winning novel "The Women of Brewster Place." Her work focused on the lives of African-American women. NPR's Lynn Neary has more.

LYNN NEARY, BYLINE²: When Gloria Naylor won the National Book Award for her first novel, "The Women of Brewster Place," in 1983, she told the audience that it was her mother who had instilled³ a passion for reading in her as a child.

The book tells the story of seven black women who all live in the same New York apartment building. Naylor said it was a tribute to women like her mother who fiercely believe in the possibilities of the human spirit despite their own limited circumstances.

TAYARI JONES: Gloria Nayla was so frank about the challenges and also the glory of being a black woman.

NEARY: Writer Tayari Jones was in the 9th grade when she first read "The Women of Brewster Place." Jones says at the time, the novel's depictions of subjects like rape⁴ and homosexuality were shocking. When the book was made into a TV miniseries in 1989, it brought issues to the small screen that were rarely seen back then.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE WOMEN OF BREWSTER PLACE")

LONETTE MCKEE: (As Lorraine) Have you noticed that people aren't as nice as they used to be?

PAULA KELLY: (As Theresa) What people, Lorraine?

MCKEE: (As Lorraine) People in this building. They hardly speak to me anymore, and it wasn't like that when we first moved in. It makes me wonder. What are they thinking?

NEARY: Naylor faced a backlash from some who criticized her depictions of the black community and especially black men. Novelist Tayari Jones says she admired Naylor's courage in the face of criticism and looked up to her as a model and a mentor⁵.

JONES: There was just so much passion, complication and also consequence to the women's choices. And I learned that an individual woman's choice can make a novel.

NEARY: Naylor continued to write about black women's lives in such novels as "Linden Hills" and "Bailey's Cafe." In a 1992 NPR interview, Naylor acknowledged she had a melancholic⁶ outlook on life.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

GLORIA NAYLOR: I am a pessimist⁷, yes, which just means that its romantic has been kicked in the heart one time too many. You know, people without hope do not write books (laughter).

NEARY: Naylor had been living in the Virgin⁸ Islands where she died following a heart attack. She was 66 years old. Lynn Neary, NPR News, Washington.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 instilled   

v.逐渐使某人获得（某种可取的品质），逐步灌输( instill的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Nature has instilled in our minds an insatiable desire to see truth. 自然给我们心灵注入了永无休止的发现真理的欲望。 来自辞典例句
• I instilled the need for kindness into my children. 我不断向孩子们灌输仁慈的必要。 来自辞典例句

4 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

5 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

6 melancholic   

忧郁症患者

参考例句：

• A absurd tragedy accompany a melancholic song by the Tiger Lillies. 一出荒诞的悲剧，在泰戈莱利斯犹豫的歌声中缓缓上演。
• I have never heard her sing a melancholic song. 我从来没有听她唱过忧伤的曲子。

7 pessimist   

n.悲观者；悲观主义者；厌世

参考例句：

• An optimist laughs to forget.A pessimist forgets to laugh.乐观者笑着忘却，悲观者忘记怎样笑。
• The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity.The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.悲观者在每个机会中都看到困难，乐观者在每个困难中都看到机会。

8 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。