Lois-Ann Yamanaka: Difference between revisions

While Yamanaka believes that her characters "know the sound of their own voice," and admits to being highly inspired by her own experiences growing up amongst Hawaii life and culture, including the [[pidgin]] language, she also attributes much of her work to the other authors who have inspired and influenced her. In an interview, Yamanaka states what a huge influence reading William Faulkner's [[''The Sound and the Fury'']] has had on her. In no way does Yamanaka compare her work to that of Faulkner, only that such works help keep her humble and rooted. She describes her experience as, "In the presence of this genius, I felt embarrassed." (216) Yamanaka also cites [[June Jordan]], [[Ai]], [[ Thulanie Davis]], and [[Jessica Hagedorn]] as major inspirations in terms of their use of voice in poetry. In general, Yamanaka counts herself lucky to be in the same category as other female Asian American writers such as [[Maxine Hong Kingston]] and [[Amy Tan]].<ref>Johnson, Sarah Anne. "Lois-Ann Yamanaka: The Characters Know the Sound of Their Own Voice." Conversations with American Women Writers. Hanover: University Press of New England, 2004.</ref>