THIS IS AMERICA - Asian-American Writers

THIS IS AMERICA - Asian-American Writers
By Doreen Baingana

Broadcast: Monday, January 05, 2004

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

The United¹ States is made up mostly of people whose ancestors² came from other continents. Writers who came here from other countries continue to explore how immigrants⁴ become American. I'm Phoebe Zimmermann.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. We tell about four Asian- American writers this week on THIS IS AMERICA from VOA Special English. Future programs will tell about immigrant³ writers from South and Central America, the Caribbean Islands, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

 
Amy Tan⁵
One of the most popular American writers is Amy Tan. Her best-known book is "The Joy Luck Club." It is based partly on her life in the United States and her mother's life in China. Amy Tan's parents left China just before the Communist⁶ government took power in nineteen-forty-nine. Mizz Tan's mother had to leave behind in China daughters from an earlier marriage. The family settled⁷ in San Francisco, California⁸. Amy and her two brothers were born there.

A few years later, Mizz Tan's father and brother died of brain cancer. This affected⁹ the family so much that her mother moved the family to Switzerland. Mizz Tan developed a very difficult relationship with her mother. It continued after she returned to the United States.

VOICE TWO:

As an adult, Amy Tan operated a technical writing business for many years. But she says she was not happy. She began writing short stories. Some of them were published. They later became part of her first book, "The Joy Luck Club," published in nineteen-eighty-nine. The book was a great success. It remained on the New York Times newspaper's best-seller¹⁰ list longer than any other book that year. A popular film based on the book was also made.

Some of "The Joy Luck Club" takes place in China before the revolution¹¹. It also describes the lives of Chinese-Americans in San Francisco who do not get along well with their parents. The older people feel closer to their old country, China. The children want to be more American.

VOICE ONE:

Amy Tan also explores relationships between mothers and daughters. One part of the book says: "And I was born to my mother and I was born a girl. All of us are like stairs, one step after another, going up and down, but all going the same way." Mizz Tan said it was only after going to China with her mother that her own identity¹² became clear.

Amy Tan's other books include "The Kitchen God's Wife," "The Hundred Secret Senses," and "The Bonesetter's Daughter." She also wrote two books for children. Mizz Tan says many of her readers, especially Chinese-Americans, feel she has presented the truth about their issues¹³ and their lives.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Ha Jin is another important Chinese-American writer. His most well-known book is "Waiting." It is about a doctor at an army hospital in China. It won two main American prizes, the American Book Award and the Pen/Faulkner Award, in nineteen-ninety-nine. Ha Jin lives in Atlanta, Georgia. He teaches English and Creative Writing at Emory University.

 
Ha Jin
Ha Jin was born in nineteen-fifty-six in Liaoning province, in northern China. He grew up during the Cultural Revolution. Ha Jin joined the army at the age of fourteen and served for six years. Colleges in China re-opened at the end of the Cultural Revolution in nineteen-seventy-seven. Ha Jin was made to study English, which had been his last choice. After completing two degrees, he came to the United States in nineteen-eighty-five for more study. He got a Ph.D. in English from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts and also studied writing.

VOICE ONE:

Ha Jin and his wife had planned to return to China. However, he says they changed their plans after the killings¹⁴ at Tiananmen Square, in Beijing in nineteen-eighty-nine. He says he believed it would be impossible to write honestly in China. He looked for jobs at universities but could not get work, so he decided¹⁵ to write.

Ha Jin said he decided to write in English because he did not think he would have readers in China. He said writing in English was hard work but it also gave him freedom. Critics¹⁶ have praised his language as being clear and powerful¹⁷. Ha Jin has written two books of poetry, two short story collections, and three novels.

VOICE TWO:

Most of Ha Jin's books are set in China. He has been called the first Chinese writer in English to write about daily life under Communist Party rule. Ha Jin does not talk directly¹⁸ about political¹⁹ dissent²⁰ in his work. But his writing is political because it shows how the system affects the daily lives of Chinese people.

You might ask, what makes Ha Jin an American writer? He has chosen the United States as his new home and he has chosen to write in English. He says that he no longer knows what life is China is like now. Ha Jin says the immigrant experience and American life are meaningful²¹ to him now. He says he will soon write about this experience.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Bharati Mukherjee has written a lot about the immigrant experience, mainly of people from South Asia. She was born in Calcutta, India, in nineteen-forty. She moved to the United States in nineteen-sixty-one and married a Canadian-American writer. They lived in Canada for fourteen years. Then they moved back to the United States.

Mizz Mukherjee has written thirteen books. Five of them are about true events. She wrote two of these non-fiction²² books with her husband, Clark Blaise. The first, "Days and Nights in Calcutta," is said to be Mizz Mukherjee's attempt to find her identity in her Indian culture. She and her husband wrote it after living in India for a year.

Mizz Mukherjee says during that time she realized that she was no longer Indian in mind or in spirit. She now calls herself an immigrant American writer. She tells about a "new America" made up of people who have left a more traditional society to search for happiness.

VOICE TWO:

Bharati Mukherjee came to North America before there was a large population of South Asian immigrants. She says this made her life difficult. She got advice from professionals²³ who help get a writer's work published. These agents advised her not to write about the immigrant experience. They said she should write only about India. She strongly rejected this because she considered herself an American writer.

Some South Asian critics disagree with Mizz Mukherjee. They say her books are popular because she writes about South Asian culture. Yet she refuses to take a lead in the community life of South Asian-Americans. However, Bharati Mukherjee says that as an American, she can define²⁴ herself in whatever way she chooses.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Experts say there is a clash²⁵ between what the new and old countries expect of immigrants and how they identify themselves. This is important to the work of another South Asian-American writer, Jhumpa Lahiri. But her experiences and opinions are different from those of Bharati Mukherjee.

Mizz Lahiri's first book, "The Interpreter²⁶ of Maladies," won America's Pulitzer Prize in nineteen-ninety-nine. The writer was only thirty-two years old. "The Interpreter of Maladies" is a collection of short stories about Indian immigrants in America and Indians in their own country.

Jhumpa Lahiri was born in London, England to Indian parents. The family moved to the United States soon after Jhumpa was born. However, they traveled to India many times while she was growing up. Mizz Lahiri says the United States is her home, even though she feels like an outsider. She says she shares some of her parents' concerns. They consider India to be their home even though they have not lived there for thirty years. These are the issues the writer explores in her stories in clear and beautiful language.

VOICE TWO:

Mizz Lahiri's first novel, "The Namesake," was published in the United States in August. Critics say the book is as good as her first collection of stories. It is about an Indian-American boy dealing²⁷ with his life as a new American.

Experts say the immigrant experience is an adventure that each generation deals with differently. More and more immigrants continue to arrive in America from different parts of the world. They will continue to write about immigrants' lives in different ways. Experts say this new writing makes American culture richer because it includes influences from around the world.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Doreen Baingana who is a prize-winning writer from Uganda. It was produced by Caty Weaver²⁸. I'm Phoebe Zimmermann.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for more about life in the United States on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.

1 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

2 ancestors   

n.祖先( ancestor的名词复数 )；祖宗；原型；（动物的）原种

参考例句：

• His ancestors had come to America from Ireland. 他的祖先从爱尔兰来到美国。
• The custom of worshipping ancestors is prevalent among these people. 崇拜祖先的风俗在这些人中是普遍的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 immigrant   

adj.(从国外)移来的，移民的；n.移民，侨民

参考例句：

• Life in the USA was very hard for almost every new immigrant.美国的生活几乎对每一个新移民都很艰难。
• I'd like to obtain some information about applying for an immigrant visa.我想取一些申请移民签证的资料。

4 immigrants   

n.移民( immigrant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Illegal immigrants were given the opportunity to regularize their position. 非法移民得到了使其身份合法化的机会。
• Immigrants from all over the world populate this city. 这个城市里生活着来自世界各地的移民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 tan   

n.鞣制革，黄褐色；adj.黄褐色的，鞣皮的；vt.晒黑，鞣(革)，鞭打；vi.晒成棕褐色

参考例句：

• She had gotten a good tan after the holiday at the sea.在海边度假之后，她的皮肤晒得黑黑的。
• His arms and legs had a dark tan.他的手臂和腿晒得黑黑的。

6 communist   

n.共产主义者，共产党员；adj.共产主义的，共产党员的

参考例句：

• In the following year he joined the Communist Party.第二年他入了共产党。
• The People's Daily is the organ of the Chinese Communist Party.《人民日报》是中国共产党的党报。

7 settled   

a.固定的；稳定的

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled without acrimony. 没有唇枪舌剑，这场纠纷就解决了。
• a settled way of life 安定的生活方式

8 California   

n.加利福尼亚(美国)

参考例句：

• He was elected governor of the state of California.他当选为加州州长。
• We were driving on a California freeway.我们正沿着加利福尼亚的一条快车道驾车行驶。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 best-seller   

n.畅销书，畅销货(唱片等)

参考例句：

• This book is a best seller.这本书是一种畅销的书。
• I hope for this book to become a best seller.我希望这本书会成为一本畅销书。

11 revolution   

n.革命，大变革；旋转；周期，循环

参考例句：

• The earth makes a yearly revolution around the sun.地球每年绕太阳一周。
• This volume records the history of the country's revolution.这卷书记载了这个国家的革命历史。

12 identity   

n.身份，本体，特征；同一(性)，一致

参考例句：

• He never revealed his identity.他从未暴露过自己的身份。
• He showed his identity card and went in.他把工作证亮了一下就进去了。

13 issues   

（水等的）流出( issue的名词复数 )； 出口； 放出； （特别重要或大众关注的）问题

参考例句：

• Let's start with the more easily addressable issues. 我们先从较容易处理的问题着手。
• Employment and taxation are the bread-and-butter issues of politics. 就业和征税是很重要的政治问题。

14 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

15 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

16 critics   

n.批评家( critic的名词复数 )；评论员；批评者；挑剔的人

参考例句：

• He felt no animosity towards his critics. 他对批评他的人并不心怀怨恨。
• The move was widely seen as an attempt to appease critics of the regime. 普遍认为，这一举措是试图安抚批评政权的人。

17 powerful   

adj.有力的，有权力的，强大的

参考例句：

• The UN began to get more and more powerful.联合国开始变得越来越强大了。
• Such are the most powerful voices of our times!这些就是我们时代的最有力的声音！

18 directly   

adv.直接地，径直地；马上，立即

参考例句：

• I will telephone you directly I hear the news.我一听到消息，马上打电话给你。
• She answered me very directly and openly.她非常坦率地、开门见山地答复了我。

19 political   

adj.政治上的，政党的，政略性的，政治的

参考例句：

• He was forced to leave his homeland for political reasons.因为政治原因他被迫离开自己的祖国。
• In ideas those two political parties are worlds apart.那两个政党在思想上有巨大分歧。

20 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

21 meaningful   

adj.意味深长的；富有意义的

参考例句：

• They exchanged meaningful looks.他们彼此意味深长地交换了一下眼色。
• The article has a meaningful ending.这篇文章的结尾意味深长。

22 non-fiction   

n.(纪实性的)散文文学

参考例句：

• I prefer non-fiction to fiction.我喜欢散文类的作品，不喜欢小说类的。
• Another difference in the old readers is their greater use of serious non-fiction.老读本的另一不同之处是更多地使用了严肃的非故事性文章。

23 professionals   

n.具有某专业资格的人( professional的名词复数 )；专业人士；内行；专门职业者

参考例句：

• The tournament is open to both amateurs and professionals. 这次锦标赛业余选手和职业选手均可参加。
• a book written for professionals and laymen alike 一本内行外行都可以读的书

24 define   

vt.解释，下定义，阐述，限定，规定

参考例句：

• Please define the words.请解释这些字的意义。
• It's hard to define exactly what has changed.很难解释清楚到底发生了什么变化。

25 clash   

vi.冲突，不协调，砰地相撞；n.冲突，不协调

参考例句：

• There is a clash between two classes at 2 p.m. on Thursday.星期四下午两点有两堂课是冲突的。
• The pot came down on the stone floor with a clash.锅“当”地一声掉到石地上。

26 interpreter   

n.翻译；口译者

参考例句：

• We must allow him to be a good interpreter.我们必须承认他是个好译员。
• We employ her as an English interpreter.我们雇用她作英语翻译。

27 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

28 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。