Growing Up Ethnic in America

Description

Stories navigating the commplicated terrain of race in America, from acclaimed writers like Toni Morrison, E.L. Doctorow, Sandra Cisneros, Sherman Alexie, and Amy Tan

The editors who brought us Unsettling America and Identity Lessons have compiled a short-story anthology that focuses on themes of racial and ethnic assimilation. With humor, passion, and grace, the contributors lay bare poignant attempts at conformity and the alienation sometimes experienced by ethnic Americans. But they also tell of the strength gained through the preservation of their communities, and the realization that it was often their difference from the norm that helped them to succeed. In pieces suggesting that American identity is far from settled, these writers illustrate the diversity that is the source of both the nation’s great discord and infinite promise.

“These beautiful stories radiate with the poignant, ingenious ways young people come to terms with their ethnic identities, negotiating their families, school, friends and their futures . . . This exemplary collection fulfills the editors’ aims: to open dialogue and encourage the telling of difficult, adaptive or affirming life experiences.” –Publisher’s WeeklyIntroduction

Performing
E.L. Doctorow: The Writer in the Family
Amy Tan: Rules of the Game
Gary Soto: Looking for Work
Bebe Moore Campbell: The Best Deal in America
Nash Candelaria: The Day the Cisco Kid Shot John Wayne
Darryl Pinckney: The New Negro
Tiffany Midge: A Half-Breed’s Dream Vacation
Kathryn Nocerino: Americanism
Frank Chin: Railroad Standard Time

Crossing
Judith Ortiz Cofer: American History
Louise Erdrich: The Red Convertible
Toni Morrison: from The Bluest Eye
Lynne Sharon Schwartz: Killing the Bees
Mary Bucci Bush: Drowning
Liz Rosenberg: Magic
Daniel Asa Rose: The Cossacks of Connecticut
Sandra Cisneros: Mericans

Negotiating
Gish Jen: What Means Switch
Laura Boss: Myrna and Me
Bruce A. Jacobs: Dinner with Father
Beena Kamlani: Brandy Cake
Enid Dame: Drowning Kittens
Diane Glancy: Portrait of the Lone Survivor
Joseph Geha: Holy Toledo
Maria Mazziotti Gillan: Carlton Fredericks and My Mother
Afaa Michael Weaver: Honey Boy

Bridging
Sherman Alexie: This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona
Veronica Chambers: from Mama’s Girl
Diane di Prima: from Recollections of My Life as a Woman
Naomi Shihab Nye: Red Velvet Dress
Fred L. Gardaphé: Grandpa’s “Chicaudies”
Roshni Rustomji: Thanksgiving in a Monsoonless Land
Simon J. Ortiz: To Change in a Good Way
Helena María Virmontes: The Moths
Sylvia A. Watanabe: Talking to the Dead

Contributors
Index

“These beautiful stories radiate with the poignant, ingenious ways young people come to terms with their ethnic identities, negotiating their families, school, friends and their futures . . . This exemplary collection fulfills the editors’ aims: to open dialogue and encourage the telling of difficult, adaptive or affirming life experiences.” –Publisher’s WeeklyMaria Mazziotti Gillan is the director of The Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College in Paterson, New Jersey. She is the author of five collections of poetry.US

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