Chapter 1: Parents and Children Maxine Hong Kingston

Maxine Hong Kingston (1940 - )

Kingston was born in Stockton, California, to Chinese parents who came to the United States before the second World War. Although both of her parents were educated, neither could find work as professionals in America. Although English is not her first language, Kingston began writing poetry in English by age nine. In 1962, she received a B.A. in English literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and in 1966 she earned a teaching certificate. In 1967 she moved to Hawaii and became a teacher. Her first book, The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts (1976), a partly fictional familial autobiography, won the National Book Critics' Circle Award for nonfiction. Commentary on this book is available on Marla Dinchak's Woman Warrior page. China Men (1980), a novel, continues this partly fictionalized account of Kingston's family, focusing now on men. The common thread in her work is that family heritage builds strong bonds that deeply influence each succeeding generation. Kingston is also interested in defining the role of the woman in male-dominated Chinese-American society. Her most recent novel is Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book (1989). Author Links Voices From the Gaps: Maxine Hong Kingston This site provides details about Kingston's life and work as well as an extensive bibliography. It also has useful links to other Kingston sites.

"Woman Warrior" Voices From the Gaps: Maxine Hong Kingston

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