Maxine Hong Kingston 1940-
Writer and Poet
Maxine Hong Kingston's parents were Chinese immigrants who ran a laundry business in Stockton, California. Their lives in Stockton were much different than their lives in China, where Kingston's father had written poetry and her mother had practiced medicine. Kingston's mother told story after story about the life and family she left behind when she came to the United States. Kingston listened to her mother and learned valuable lessons from her.
In 1976, Kingston published her first book, The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. The book, based on her mother's stories, became a bestseller and won a National Book Critics Circle Award. Kingston's next book, China Men, also won a National Book Award. In it, Kingston tells about her father and other Chinese immigrants in America, their work on the transcontinental railroad, and the prejudice they faced. Through her books, Kingston has shown that American culture includes her family, her community, and the immigrant experience.
Critical Thinking
What did Maxine Hong Kingston write about in her two books, The Woman Warrior and China Men?