Lisa See

{{Infobox writer

| name = Lisa See

| image =Lisa See in Madrid by Asís G. Ayerbe.jpg

| caption =Lisa See in Madrid (2012), by Asís G. Ayerbe

| birth_date ={{birth date and age|1955|02|18|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Paris, France

| death_date =

| death_place =

| spouse = Richard Kendall

| children = Alexander and Christopher

| notableworks =

| occupation = {{flatlist|

Novelist
biographer
writer
community leader

}}

Lisa See (born 18 February 1955) is an American writer and novelist. Her books include On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family (1995), a detailed account of See's family history, and the novels Flower Net (1997), The Interior (1999), Dragon Bones (2003), Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2005), Peony in Love (2007) and Shanghai Girls (2009), which made it to the 2010 New York Times bestseller list. Both Shanghai Girls and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan received honorable mentions from the Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature.

See's novel, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane (2017), is a story about circumstances, culture, and distance among the Akha people of Xishuangbanna, China.{{Cite web|title=The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane – Lisa See's Official Website|url=https://www.lisasee.com/books-new/the-tea-girl-of-hummingbird-lane/|access-date=2021-01-25|language=en-US}} Her 2019 novel, The Island of Sea Women (2019), is a story about female friendship and family secrets on Jeju Island before, during, and in the aftermath of the Korean War.{{Cite web|title=The Island of Sea Women – Lisa See's Official Website|url=https://www.lisasee.com/books-new/the-island-of-sea-women/|access-date=2021-01-25|language=en-US}}

Flower Net, The Interior, and Dragon Bones make up the Red Princess mystery series. Meanwhile, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Peony in Love focus on the lives of Chinese women in the 19th and 17th centuries respectively. Shanghai Girls (2009) chronicles the lives of two sisters who come to Los Angeles in arranged marriages and face, among other things, the pressures put on Chinese-Americans during the anti-Communist mania of the 1950s.[http://marksarvas.blogs.com/elegvar/2007/10/guest-intervi-1.html "Lisa See with Daniel Olivas"]. "The Elegant Variation" (10/03/07). See completed a sequel titled Dreams of Joy, released in May 2011.Amy S. Rosenberg, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120509203859/http://articles.philly.com/2009-05-26/news/25273572_1_snow-flower-beautiful-girls-novel "Novels Focused on Her Family Lineage"], May 26, 2009. China Dolls (June 2014) deals with Chinese American nightclub performers of the 1930s and 1940s.

Writing under the pen name Monica Highland, See, her mother Carolyn See, and John EspeyClara Sturak, [http://www.magazine.ucla.edu/year2001/spring01_03.html "The Last Man of Letters], UCLA Magazine, Spring 2001. published two novels: Lotus Land (1983), 110 Shanghai Road (1986), and Greetings from Southern California (1988), a collection of early 20th Century postcards and commentary on the history they represent. She has a personal essay ("The Funeral Banquet") included in the anthology Half and Half.See, Lisa, "The Funeral Banquet", in O'Hearn, Claudine Chiawei (ed.), Half and Half: Writers on Growing Up Biracial and Bicultural. pp. 125–138, Pantheon Books, 1998.

See has donated her personal papers (1973–2001) to UCLA.Lisa See Papers, 1973–2001. Collection Number 564. Department of Special Collections, Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA. During the 2012 Golden Dragon Chinese New Year Parade in Los Angeles Chinatown, See served as the Grand Marshal.

Her latest novel, Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, was published in June 2023 and became a Goodreads nominee for Best Historical Fiction that year.{{Cite book |title=Lady Tan's Circle of Women |url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62919732-lady-tan-s-circle-of-women |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=Goodreads |isbn=978-1-9821-1708-5 |language=en}} Set in 15th-century China under the Ming Dynasty, the novel is inspired by the true story of a woman physician who struggled to break free from traditions imposed by her arranged marriage in order to help women with their illnesses.

Early life

On February 18, 1955, See was born in Paris, France. See's mother was Carolyn See, an American student who later became an English professor, writer, and novelist. See's father was Richard See, an American student who later became an anthropologist.

See's parents were later divorced, and her mother married Tom Sturak. See has a half-sister, Clara Sturak. See has spent many years in Los Angeles, California, especially in and around the Los Angeles Chinatown.Xian Liu, p.323[http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm?author_number=1171 Bookbrowse, "Author Biography"]

{{cite web |url=http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/in-memoriam%3A-ucla-emerita-english-professor-and-author-carolyn-see |title=In Memoriam: UCLA Emerita English professor and author Carolyn See |work=UCLA |publisher=news.ucla.edu |date=July 19, 2016 |access-date=August 25, 2019}}Rourke, Mary, [http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-me-carolyn-see-snap-story.html "Carolyn See, award-winning Southern California writer, dies at 82"], Los Angeles Times, July 14, 2016.Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America, Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1996

Her paternal great-grandfather Fong See (鄺泗) was Chinese, which has had a great impact on her life and work. She has written for and led many cultural events emphasizing the importance of Los Angeles and Chinatown.{{Cite web|last=Correspondent|first=Chauncey Mabe|title=Author Q&A;: Lisa See|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/events/fl-xpm-2011-06-19-fl-books-lisa-see-20110619-story.html|access-date=2021-07-26|website=Sun-Sentinel.com|date=19 June 2011 |language=en-US}}

Education

See graduated with a B.A. from Loyola Marymount University in 1979.{{Cite web |url=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Dragon-Bones/Lisa-See/e/9780345440310 |title="Biography", Barnes and Noble |access-date=2008-09-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529140554/http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Dragon-Bones/Lisa-See/e/9780345440310 |archive-date=2008-05-29 |url-status=dead }}

Career

See was the West Coast correspondent for Publishers Weekly (1983–1996).Xian Liu, p. 324 She has written articles for Vogue, Self, and More, has written the libretto for the opera based on On Gold Mountain,[http://www.lisasee.com/opera.htm "On Gold Mountain: An Opera"] and has helped develop the Family Discovery Gallery for the Autry Museum, which depicts 1930s Los Angeles from the perspective of her father as a seven-year-old boy. Her exhibition, On Gold Mountain: A Chinese American Experience was featured in the Autry Museum of Western Heritage,[http://www.lisasee.com/autrymuseum.htm On Gold Mountain: A Chinese American Experience -- the Autry Museum of Western Heritage (2000-2001)] and the Smithsonian.[http://www.apa.si.edu/ongoldmountain/ On Gold Mountain: A Chinese American Experience -- the Smithsonian Institution (2001)] See is also a public speaker.

Filmography

2011 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - as a writer.{{cite web |title=Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1541995/credits/?ref_=bo_tt_tab#tabs |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=30 June 2023}}
2019 To Climb a Gold Mountain - as herself.{{cite web |url=https://www.irishfilmcritic.com/tv-review-to-climb-a-gold-mountain-misses-opportunities/ |title=TV Review: "To Climb a Gold Mountain" Misses Opportunity |publisher=irishfilmcritic.com |first=Jim |last=Land |date=May 15, 2016 |access-date=August 24, 2019}}
2019 Aussie Osbourne Show - S3.E1 - as herself.{{cite web |title=Lisa See talks "The Island of Sea Women" and Film |url=https://www.aussieosbourne.com/2019/03/lisa-see-talks-island-of-sea-women-and.html |website=Aussie Osbourne |access-date=30 June 2023}}
2022 The Island of Sea Women (in development) - as a writer.{{cite web |last1=Frater |first1=Patrick |title=Korea's IMTV Hatches Multi-Season Series Based on Lisa See Novel 'The Island of Sea Women' About Matriarchal Society of Free Divers (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2022/global/news/korea-tv-series-lisa-see-the-island-of-sea-women-1235396901/ |website=Variety |date=October 8, 2022 |access-date=30 June 2023}}

Awards

Among her awards and recognitions are the Organization of Chinese Americans Women's 2001 award as National Woman of the Year and the 2003 History Makers Award presented by the Chinese American Museum. See serves as a Los Angeles City Commissioner.[http://www.lisasee.com/Bio.htm "About the Author"], Lisa See official web site. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204010836/http://www.lisasee.com/Bio.htm |date=February 4, 2014 }} Her book Flower Net was nominated for the 1998 Edgar Award for Best First Novel.{{cite web | url=https://edgarawards.com/category-list-best-first-novel/ | title=Category List – Best First Novel | Edgar® Awards Info & Database }}

Bibliography

On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese American Family. St. Martins Press, 1995. {{ISBN|9781101910085}}
Flower Net. HarperCollins, 1997.
The Interior. HarperCollins, 1999.
Dragon Bones. Random House, Inc., 2003. {{ISBN|9781588362704}}
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Random House, Inc., 2005. {{ISBN|9781408821626}}
Peony in Love. Random House, Inc., 2007. {{ISBN|9781408811795}}
Shanghai Girls. Random House, Inc., 2009. {{ISBN|9781408811801}}
Chinatown (guidebook), Angels Walk LA, 2003.
Dreams of Joy. Random House, Inc., 2011. {{ISBN|9781408826119}}
China Dolls. Random House, Inc., 2014.
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane. Scribner, 2017.{{cite book |title= The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane |date= March 21, 2017 |isbn= 978-1501154829 |last1= See |first1= Lisa |publisher= Simon and Schuster }}{{cite web |url=http://www.aussieosbourne.com/2017/03/new-york-times-bestselling-author-lisa.html |title= New York Times Bestselling Author Lisa See Interview |date= March 22, 2017 |publisher= Aussie Osbourne }}
The Island of Sea Women. Scribner, 2019. {{ISBN|9781501154850}}
Lady Tan's Circle of Women Simon & Schuster, 2023.

References

Additional sources

Fenby, Jonathan. Modern China. New York: HarperCollins Publishers (2008).
Gifford, Rob. China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks (2007).
Liu, Xian. "Lisa Lenine See". In Asian American Novelists: A Bio-Biblical Critical Sourcebook, pp. 323–331. Ed. Nelson, Emmanuel S. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group Inc. (2000).
Pan, Philip P. Out of Mao's Shadow. New York: Simon and Schuster (2008).
See, Carolyn. Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America. Los Angeles: University of California Press (1996).

External links

[http://www.lisasee.com/autrymuseum.htm "On Gold Mountain: A Chinese American Experience"], Autry Museum of Western Heritage.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8HaM3HUMCs/ Lisa See interviewed on Conversations from Penn State], Youtube.com.

Category:1955 births

Category:Living people

Category:American women novelists

Category:American women essayists

Category:American women historians

Category:American novelists of Chinese descent

Category:American women writers of Chinese descent

Category:Chinatown, Los Angeles

Category:Loyola Marymount University alumni

Category:Writers from Los Angeles

Category:20th-century American essayists

Category:21st-century American essayists