Generations (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Thelma Lucille Sayles
- First Published: 1976
- Type of Work: Memoir
- Time of Work: 1822-1969
- Setting: Louisiana, Virginia, and New York
- Principal Characters: Lucille Clifton, Caroline Donald Sale, Sam Louis Sale, Lucille (Lucy) Sayle, Harvey Nichols, Gene Sayle, Georgia Hatcher Sayle, Samuel Louis Sayles, Thelma Moore
- Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Family literature, Biography
- Subjects: African Americans, Family or family life, Mothers, Parents and children, Twentieth century, Nineteenth century, Slavery or slaves, Fathers, Storytelling, Grandparents or grandchildren
- Locales: Virginia, New York, Louisiana
Form and Content
Dedicated to her father, Samuel Louis Sayles, Generations: A Memoir is African American poet Lucille Clifton’s story of her family’s genealogy. Written in prose, in five sections each named after a member of the family (“Caroline and son,” “Lucy,” “Gene,” “Samuel,” and “Thelma”), Clifton’s memoir is a celebration of the strength of her family and of family ties, especially of her exemplary great-great-grandmother.
In her memoir, Clifton assumes the role of the griot, the African oral storyteller who passes on the record...
[The entire page is 2148 words long]
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