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VOICE ONE:

The United States is made up mostly of people whose ancestorscame from other continents. Writers who came here from othercountries continue to explore how immigrants become American. I'mPhoebe Zimmermann.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. We tell about four Asian- American writersthis week on THIS IS AMERICA from VOA Special English. Futureprograms will tell about immigrant writers from South and CentralAmerica, the Caribbean Islands, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

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VOICE ONE:

One of the most popular Americanwriters is Amy Tan. Her best-known book is "The Joy Luck Club." Itis based partly on her life in the United States and her mother'slife in China. Amy Tan's parents left China just before theCommunist government took power in nineteen-forty-nine. Mizz Tan'smother had to leave behind in China daughters from an earliermarriage. The family settled in San Francisco, California. Amy andher two brothers were born there.

A few years later, Mizz Tan's father and brother died of braincancer. This affected the family so much that her mother moved thefamily to Switzerland. Mizz Tan developed a very difficultrelationship with her mother. It continued after she returned to theUnited States.

VOICE TWO:

As an adult, Amy Tan operated a technical writing business formany years. But she says she was not happy. She began writing shortstories. Some of them were published. They later became part of herfirst book, "The Joy Luck Club," published in nineteen-eighty-nine.The book was a great success. It remained on the New York Timesnewspaper's best-seller list longer than any other book that year. Apopular film based on the book was also made.

Some of "The Joy Luck Club" takes place in China before therevolution. It also describes the lives of Chinese-Americans in SanFrancisco who do not get along well with their parents. The olderpeople feel closer to their old country, China. The children want tobe more American.

VOICE ONE:

Amy Tan also explores relationships between mothers anddaughters. One part of the book says: "And I was born to my motherand I was born a girl. All of us are like stairs, one step afteranother, going up and down, but all going the same way." Mizz Tansaid it was only after going to China with her mother that her ownidentity became clear.

Amy Tan's other books include "The Kitchen God's Wife," "TheHundred Secret Senses," and "The Bonesetter's Daughter." She alsowrote two books for children. Mizz Tan says many of her readers,especially Chinese-Americans, feel she has presented the truth abouttheir issues and their lives.

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VOICE TWO:

Ha Jin is another important Chinese-American writer. His mostwell-known book is "Waiting." It is about a doctor at an armyhospital in China. It won two main American prizes, the AmericanBook Award and the Pen/Faulkner Award, in nineteen-ninety-nine. HaJin lives in Atlanta, Georgia. He teaches English and CreativeWriting at Emory University.

Ha Jin was born innineteen-fifty-six in Liaoning province, in northern China. He grewup during the Cultural Revolution. Ha Jin joined the army at the ageof fourteen and served for six years. Colleges in China re-opened atthe end of the Cultural Revolution in nineteen-seventy-seven. Ha Jinwas made to study English, which had been his last choice. Aftercompleting two degrees, he came to the United States innineteen-eighty-five for more study. He got a Ph.D. in English fromBrandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts and also studiedwriting.

VOICE ONE:

Ha Jin and his wife had planned to return to China. However, hesays they changed their plans after the killings at TiananmenSquare, in Beijing in nineteen-eighty-nine. He says he believed itwould be impossible to write honestly in China. He looked for jobsat universities but could not get work, so he decided to write.

Ha Jin said he decided to write in English because he did notthink he would have readers in China. He said writing in English washard work but it also gave him freedom. Critics have praised hislanguage as being clear and powerful. Ha Jin has written two booksof poetry, two short story collections, and three novels.

VOICE TWO:

Most of Ha Jin's books are set in China. He has been called thefirst Chinese writer in English to write about daily life underCommunist Party rule. Ha Jin does not talk directly about politicaldissent in his work. But his writing is political because it showshow the system affects the daily lives of Chinese people.

You might ask, what makes Ha Jin an American writer? He haschosen the United States as his new home and he has chosen to writein English. He says that he no longer knows what life is China islike now. Ha Jin says the immigrant experience and American life aremeaningful to him now. He says he will soon write about thisexperience.

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VOICE ONE:

Bharati Mukherjee has written a lot about the immigrantexperience, mainly of people from South Asia. She was born inCalcutta, India, in nineteen-forty. She moved to the United Statesin nineteen-sixty-one and married a Canadian-American writer. Theylived in Canada for fourteen years. Then they moved back to theUnited States.

Mizz Mukherjee has written thirteen books. Five of them are abouttrue events. She wrote two of these non-fiction books with herhusband, Clark Blaise. The first, "Days and Nights in Calcutta," issaid to be Mizz Mukherjee's attempt to find her identity in herIndian culture. She and her husband wrote it after living in Indiafor a year.

Mizz Mukherjee says during that time she realized that she was nolonger Indian in mind or in spirit. She now calls herself animmigrant American writer. She tells about a "new America" made upof people who have left a more traditional society to search forhappiness.

VOICE TWO:

Bharati Mukherjee came to North America before there was a largepopulation of South Asian immigrants. She says this made her lifedifficult. She got advice from professionals who help get a writer'swork published. These agents advised her not to write about theimmigrant experience. They said she should write only about India.She strongly rejected this because she considered herself anAmerican writer.

Some South Asian critics disagree with Mizz Mukherjee. They sayher books are popular because she writes about South Asian culture.Yet she refuses to take a lead in the community life of SouthAsian-Americans. However, Bharati Mukherjee says that as anAmerican, she can define herself in whatever way she chooses.

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VOICE ONE:

Experts say there is a clash between what the new and oldcountries expect of immigrants and how they identify themselves.This is important to the work of another South Asian-Americanwriter, Jhumpa Lahiri. But her experiences and opinions aredifferent from those of Bharati Mukherjee.

Mizz Lahiri's first book, "The Interpreter of Maladies," wonAmerica's Pulitzer Prize in nineteen-ninety-nine. The writer wasonly thirty-two years old. "The Interpreter of Maladies" is acollection of short stories about Indian immigrants in America andIndians in their own country.

Jhumpa Lahiri was born in London, England to Indian parents. Thefamily moved to the United States soon after Jhumpa was born.However, they traveled to India many times while she was growing up.Mizz Lahiri says the United States is her home, even though shefeels like an outsider. She says she shares some of her parents'concerns. They consider India to be their home even though they havenot lived there for thirty years. These are the issues the writerexplores in her stories in clear and beautiful language.

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Mizz Lahiri's first novel, "The Namesake," was published in theUnited States in August. Critics say the book is as good as herfirst collection of stories. It is about an Indian-American boydealing with his life as a new American.

Experts say the immigrant experience is an adventure that eachgeneration deals with differently. More and more immigrants continueto arrive in America from different parts of the world. They willcontinue to write about immigrants' lives in different ways. Expertssay this new writing makes American culture richer because itincludes influences from around the world.

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VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Doreen Baingana who is aprize-winning writer from Uganda. It was produced by Caty Weaver.I'm Phoebe Zimmermann.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for more about lifein the United States on the VOA Special English program, THIS ISAMERICA.