triangular road
B o o k s b y Pa u l e M a r s h a l l Brown Girl, Brownstones Soul Clap Hands and Sing The Chosen Place, the Timeless People Reena and Other Stories Praisesong for the Widow Daughters The Fisher King
triangular road a memoir
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paule marshall
A Member of the Perseus Books Group New York
Copyright © 2009 by Paule Marshall Published by BasicCivitas Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address BasicCivitas, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016-8810. Books published by BasicCivitas are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800) 810-4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail
[email protected]. Designed by Jeff Williams Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Marshall, Paule, 1929– Triangular road : a memoir / Paule Marshall. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-465-01359-3 (alk. paper) 1. Marshall, Paule, 1929– 2. African American authors— Biography. 3. Women and literature—United States—History— 20th century. 4. Hughes, Langston, 1902–1967. 5. African Americans—Intellectual life—20th century. I. Title. PS3563.A7223Z46 2008 813'.54—dc22 2008036671 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
author’s note
This book is an adaptation of a lecture series delivered at Harvard University in 2005 on the theme of “Bodies of Water”—specific rivers, seas and oceans—and their profound impact on black history and culture throughout the Americas.
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contents
Homage to Mr. Hughes 1
I’ve Known Rivers: The James River 35
I’ve Known Seas: The Caribbean Sea 61 Barbados, Part I, 61 Barbados, Part II, 95 Grenada, 1962, 120
I’ve Known Oceans: The Atlantic 151
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