"(Q:The Woman Warrior opens with your mother saying "You must not tell anyone what I'm about to tell you," and then you proceed to do just that. Why do you begin with this particular scene?") Kingston: There has to be a way into the story. And there are obstacles in the way, including orders from one's own mother not to tell. So I thought if I began the book stating what that order was, I could confront it directly and disobey the order. And in that way I could free myself and my voice to be able to tell the story. Since writing that I've seen that there are other people who use this same technique. Alice Walker begins The Color Purple: "You better not never tell nobody but God." Toni Morrison begins The Bluest Eye: "Quiet as it's kept"-then proceeds to tell the community's secrets."
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Novelists from the United StatesShort story writers from the United StatesWomen authors from the United States20th-century poets from the United StatesPublishers from the United States
Original Language: English
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1996 interview in Conversations with Maxine Hong Kingston (1998)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alice_Walker
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Alice Walker
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