I Come from Immigrants

Born a child of Hungarian immigrants, Margaret Duda grew up bi-lingual and bi-cultural. She could not speak English until she had to go to kindergarten, but then loved reading and had a poem in the National Anthology of High School Poetry at 15 and sold her first short story to a national magazine at 17. In her senior year, she wrote a weekly column for the local newspaper on school news. She graduated from the University of Delaware, where she majored in English Literature and minored in Philosophy, winning both the Mary Healey Ford Award and the Penwoman’s Bowl award for her short fiction. She was also chosen Mademoiselle’s college representative from the University of Delaware for her articles. During summer vacations, Margaret worked as a journalist for the Delaware State News and interviewed people such as John F. Kennedy when he ran for President. After graduation from college, marriage, and four children, she wrote short stories and articles for literary magazines such as The Ka