Early Life
Spence was born on the island of Nevis in the British West Indies on June 11, 1894, the oldest of seven girls. She spent her formative years on her father's sugar plantation. which was destroyed by a hurricane. and she moved to New York with her family in 1902. Because of her father's difficulty in finding steady employment, Spence and her family lived in meager circumstances in Brooklyn. Moreover, she was quite aware that West Indians were not welcomed by the indigenous black population. Despite these difficulties - there were six girls and two parents crowded in a small apartment - Spence had many positive influences, particularly from her mother. Spence's mother often read to her as a child, and the strong, independent nature she displayed, served as a model for Spence, both in her own life and in the female characters she created in her plays.
Read more about this topic: Eulalie Spence
Famous quotes containing the words early life, early and/or life:
“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“I have always had something to live besides a personal life. And I suspected very early that to live merely in an experience of, in an expression of, in a positive delight in the human cliches could be no business of mine.”
—Margaret Anderson (1886–1973)
“... into that rushing beast of the night,
sucked up by that great dragon, to split
from my life with no flag,
no belly,
no cry.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)