名人轶事:Writer Dorothy West: Last Living Member of Harlem Renai

（单词翻译）

Writer Dorothy West: Last Living Member of Harlem Renaissance¹
Written by Doreen Baingana

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VOICE ONE:

I'm Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember with the Special English Program, PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Every

week, we tell about a person who played an important part in the history and

culture of the United States. Today, we tell about the writer Dorothy West.

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VOICE ONE:

Dorothy West      

Dorothy West's first long book was published when she was more

than forty years old. Her second book was published when she was in her late

eighties.

Yet African American poet Langston Hughes called her "The Kid." This means a

child. Dorothy West had been one of the youngest members of the group of

writers and artists of the Harlem Renaissance. This was a creative period for

African Americans during the nineteen twenties and nineteen thirties.

VOICE TWO:

During and after World War One, thousands of southern blacks moved to northern

cities in the United States. They were seeking jobs and better lives. Many

settled in an area of New York City known as Harlem. Many were musicians,

writers, artists and performers. Harlem became the largest African American

community in the United States.

The mass movement from south to north led African Americans to examine their

lives: Who were they?  What were their rights as Americans?  The artistic²

expression of this collective³ examination⁴ became known as the Harlem

Renaissance. Renaissance means rebirth. The Harlem Renaissance represented a

re-birth of black people as an effective part of American life.

Dorothy West helped influence the direction and form of African American

writing during this time.

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VOICE ONE:

Dorothy West was born in nineteen-oh-seven in the city of Boston,

Massachusetts. Both her parents were born in the southern United States, and

moved north. Her father was a former slave. He became the first African

American to own a food-selling company in Boston.

The family became part of the black upper middle class social group of Boston.

Dorothy West had private teachers, dancing classes, and holidays on Martha's

Vineyard -- an island off the coast of Massachusetts. She studied at Boston

University and the Columbia University School of Journalism⁵ in New York.

Later, she would use her own experiences and observations to write about

social class in the black community.

VOICE TWO:

Dorothy West started writing stories at age seven. When she was fourteen, she

published her first story in the "Boston Post."  After that, she wrote often

for that newspaper. In nineteen twenty-six, she won second place in a short

story contest by "Opportunity" magazine. Her story was called "The

Typewriter."  It describes an African American man who hates his real life. He

creates a better life for himself -- in his imagination -- in order to help

his daughter improve her typing skills.

VOICE ONE:

Dorothy West won second place in the competition with Zora Neale Hurston.

Hurston was another famous writer of the Harlem Renaissance. West moved to

Harlem, too. She was considered a little sister by Hurston and other writers

and poets such as Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Wallace Thurman.

Members of the Harlem Renaissance group were very serious about their art.

West once told a reporter that they all thought they were going to be the

greatest writers in the world.

VOICE TWO:

During this time, Dorothy West wrote a number of short stories. They were

published in magazines in and around New York. One story was called "Funeral."

 Another was called "The Black Dress."

She once said the writer whose work she liked most was the Russian Fyodor

Dstoevsky. Experts say some of her work is similar to his. Like Dostoevsky,

she wrote about the idea of being saved by suffering. She wrote about

unsatisfied people who feel trapped by their environment, or by racism⁶, or

because they are female⁷ or male.
VOICE ONE:

In nineteen thirty-two, Dorothy West went to Russia with a group of black

intellectuals⁸ and artists. They went to make a film about racism in the United

States. The film, "Black and White," was never completed. West remained in

Russia for about a year. It appears she did not stay for political reasons, #p#副标题#e#

however. She said she went to Russia with Langston Hughes and the others

because she liked them. She returned to the United States when her father

died.

VOICE TWO:

By the middle of the nineteen thirties, the Harlem Renaissance was dying⁹ out.

Dorothy West wanted to re-capture the creativity of the period. So she created

a magazine called, "Challenge."

She edited¹⁰ and published the works¹¹ of new, young African American writers. The

magazine lasted only three years. West did not have enough money to continue

producing it. She also said she did not receive enough writing of a high

quality.

The magazine was criticized¹² by a group of black writers. They included Richard

Wright, author of the book “Native Son,” and Margaret Walker. They said the

magazine was too concerned with artistic values. They felt it should deal with

political issues.

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen thirty-seven, Dorothy West created another magazine called "New

Challenge."  She asked Richard Wright to help her, even though he had

criticized her earlier magazine.

The two writers disagreed on a number of issues, however. Also, West again had

financial difficulties producing the magazine. So "New Challenge" was

published only once. Yet that one publication¹³ was very important. It included

a document by Wright called "Blueprint¹⁴ for Negro¹⁵ Writing."  That was a

statement about what he believed African Americans should write about. "New

Challenge" was the first publication to bring together black art and politics.

Other magazines would follow its example.

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VOICE TWO:

In the late nineteen forties, Dorothy West left New York. She moved to her

family's holiday house on Martha's Vineyard island. She lived there for the

rest of her life.

In nineteen forty-eight, she published her first book, “The Living Is Easy.”

 It is partly based on her life and on her mother. It is about a light-skinned

black woman named Cleo Johnson. She wishes that her dark-skinned daughter were

more like her. She treats her husband badly because he is from a lower social

class. The book describes black middle class values in Boston. Many critics

liked the book and its message about racism against blacks and within the

black community.

VOICE ONE:

“The Living is Easy” was published again by the Feminist¹⁶ Press in nineteen

eighty-two. Critics at that time described the book as important because it

showed the position of women in the family and in life. The book also is

valued for its description of the complex relationship between a mother and a

daughter. “The Living Is Easy” is now recognized as having an important

influence on the writing tradition of African American women.

VOICE TWO:

After her first novel, Dorothy West continued writing stories and short pieces

containing her ideas on different subjects. Her second novel was published

forty-seven years later, in nineteen ninety-five. It is called “The Wedding.

”

The story takes place in the black community of Martha's Vineyard during the

nineteen-fifties. It is about a rich young black woman who is to marry a white

jazz musician. It deals with class and color issues between blacks, and racial

issues between blacks and whites. West believed that different races should

not be separated from each other. She also believed in love.

VOICE ONE:

She began the book in the Nineteen-Sixties. But she stopped writing it when

the Black Power political movement grew strong. She thought members of the

group would denounce¹⁷ it. She was not active in the civil rights movement to

guarantee fair treatment for black Americans.

In Nineteen-Ninety-Two, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis began to visit Dorothy West

to help her finish “The Wedding.”  Missus Onassis was married to American

President John Kennedy when he was killed in nineteen sixty-three. Later, she

worked for a publishing company. She died just before “The Wedding” was

published. Dorothy West noted¹⁸ that the two women looked very different but had

worked together perfectly¹⁹.

The book was so popular that its publishers produced another one by Dorothy

West. “The Richer, The Poorer” is a collection of stories and other writings

she made throughout her life.

VOICE TWO:

Dorothy West was the last living member of the Harlem Renaissance. She died in

August, nineteen ninety-eight. She was ninety-one years old. Not long before

she died, she was honored²⁰ at a special ceremony. Many different people praised

her work. They described her influence on American culture over so many years.

One said, simply, that Dorothy West was a "national gift."

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VOICE ONE:

This Special English program was written by Doreen Baingana. I'm Shirley

Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA

program on the Voice of America.