Argues that the ability to narrate experience relies upon pervasive, culturally shared, and unquestioned myths. Analyzes the oral narrative of a seven-year-old Black female elementary school student. (FMW)

Uses the "line and stanza" method to analyze and compare texts representing different cultural backgrounds and ages. Proposes that the textual characteristics identified by the Formalists as the measure of literature are actually the hallmarks of a cross-cultural human capacity for making deep sense of experience. (FMW)

Analyzes oral narrative told to peers by a Black girl and compares it to one told to an adult female by a White middle-class girl. Proposes that the White girl's style is compatible with school-based values governing speech and writing, while the Black girl's style is compatible with cultures emphasizing verbal mastery but is not compatible with…