Coming of Age in a Small Place

Dear Jamaica Kincaid,

I was able to go to your "Coming of Age in a Small Place" talk at the CMC Ath and loved it. To be honest, I wasn’t very familiar with your work and wasn't sure what to expect. But the things you said really captured me completely.

In particular, I loved the way you described your childhood. As a young adult, I have recently been preoccupied with capturing a period of my life that is in many ways intangible. I liked how you were able to talk about your childhood as a very distinct but also a very universal experience. When you transitioned into talking about Manhattan, I loved the description of mornings, and very early mornings at that. To me, these things seemed very simple but the more and more you went into detail I came to realize how complex and very beautiful they were. Thank you for allowing me to see this.

I also especially loved Your Talk Town Story, which I thought was thoughtful and innovative. It was comical how to tallied the Friedman’s up, adding them to your evaluations.

When you spoke of your Father you said that he “talked about himself as if he was a person he used to know well.” I liked how you said that and this line has stuck with me since. I also liked how you were able to also capture the child’s sense that no, parents did not and could not have possibly existed before our own existence.

Lastly, your story about your brother meant a lot to me. I think it is hard to be truthful, especially when you are writing something that many others will read. You described him as someone “I had not wanted to love.” This also really resonated with me.

Thank you for your talk. This was a first time I was able to hear an author read from their work live and I felt that this made what you were saying both very intimate and universal. Thank you again.

Sincerely,
Laura Nolan
Scripps College 2011